2023 Nevada Legislature – Preliminary Changes for Public Employers

On June 5, 2023, the Nevada Legislature ended its 82nd Session with the passage of many bills affecting Nevada employers. Below is a preliminary summary of new laws that may impact a public employer. For each, we have provided a link to Nevada’s legislative website where you can view the final text of the bill (click on “As Enrolled”).

Some of these bills may require a change to your policies and procedures. If you have questions about these bills or need assistance with such policy changes, please contact a KZA attorney.

There are still several bills pending which have passed the Legislature but have not been approved by the Governor. If these bills become laws, we will notify you via the Employer Report.  

AB 13 – Whistleblower procedures. This bill changes the procedures already in place to protect state officers and employees who report improper governmental action (whistleblowers). Existing Nevada law, at NRS 281.641, gives state whistleblowers the opportunity to file an appeal with the Personnel Commission of the Division of Human Resources Management of the Department of Administration if they believe they have been retaliated against for engaging in whistleblowing activity. This bill creates a deadline for filing this appeal; it must be filed no later than 60 working days after the date on which the alleged retaliation occurred. AB 13 also removes the authority of the hearing officer to order the termination of a person deemed responsible for the retaliation. This bill becomes effective on July 1, 2023.

AB 52 – Open Meeting Law. This bill makes a variety of changes to NRS 241. For example, it addresses nonvoting members of a public body, vacancies in voting membership of a public body, remote technology systems, notice and deadlines for certain types of meetings, and makes “technical, nonsubstantive” changes to reorganize the definition of “meeting” in the open meeting law “to make clear that a meeting does not occur . . . if the members of a public body, regardless of the presence of an actual or collective quorum of those members, do not deliberate or take action on a matter.” It also expands an exception to the open meeting law for certain committees working on ballot measures, clarifies when the open meeting law applies to a library or educational foundation, and provides that the open meeting law applies to a university foundation. This bill’s changes become effective on July 1, 2023.

AB 219 – Open Meeting Law. This bill provides new open meeting rules for public comment periods if a public meeting is continued to a different day, for agenda content for meetings held by remote technology, and for posting the meeting agenda. It further provides that a public body may not hold certain meetings relating to contested cases and regulations by means of a remote technology system without a physical location designated for the meeting where members of the general public are permitted to attend and participate. This bill’s changes become effective on July 1, 2023.

SB 387 – State personnel system, classified service. This bill requires the Administrator of the Division of Human Resources Management of the Department of Administration to periodically review the positions in the classified service of the State that require a bachelor’s degree and, whenever the Administrator deems it necessary for the efficiency of the public service, revise the qualifications to allow a person to substitute equivalent experience or skills in lieu of such a degree. It becomes effective on October 1, 2023.

SB 87 – Classified service, Executive Department. This bill expands the circumstances under which a position in the classified service of the Executive Department of State Government may be filled without competition by amending NRS 284. Specifically, the bill applies to a person who meets the minimum qualifications for the position and successfully completed at least 900 hours of service in an AmeriCorps, Youth Conservation Corps or Job Corps program in Nevada not more than 2 years before the person applies for the position if such service was directly related to the job duties of the position in the classified service. This change becomes effective on October 1, 2023.

SB 434 – PERS. This bill makes substitute teachers eligible to participate in the Public Employment Retirement System (PERS) and provides an additional option for an unmodified service retirement allowance. It becomes effective on July 1, 2023.

SB 264 – Collective bargaining, LVMPD. This bill provides that a civilian employee of a metropolitan police department may be a member of a union only if the bargaining unit is composed exclusively of civilian employees. This amendment to NRS 288.140 applies to any CBA entered into on or after October 1, 2023; it does not apply to CBAs entered into before October 1, 2023, but will apply to any extensions or renewals of such CBAs. 

SB 323 – Peace officers. This bill requires the Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission to establish minimum standards for the reciprocity of a person who has been certified as a category III peace officer or its equivalent by the certifying authority of another state or who has successfully completed a federal law enforcement training program that is equivalent to a category III peace officer in this State. It becomes effective on January 1, 2024.

AB 410 – Worker’s compensation for first responders. This bill expands the circumstances under which first responders are authorized to receive worker’s compensation coverage for certain stress-related claims. This change becomes effective on January 1, 2024.

AB 451 – State employees. This bill provides that an employee in the unclassified service of the Budget Division of the Office of Finance is entitled to compensation for overtime performed when the employee is doing work relating to the preparation of the executive budget report or proposed budget during the period beginning on September 1 of an even-numbered year and ending on January 31 of the following year. This entitlement begins on July 1, 2023, and ends on June 30, 2025. The bill also requires the State’s Division of Human Resources Management to conduct a study relating to the pay of all classified and unclassified positions within the Executive Department of the State Government and submit a report of findings to the Governor and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau. This portion of the bill becomes effective on July 1, 2023. 

KZA Employer Report articles are for general information only; they are not intended and should not be construed to be legal advice. Reading or replying to such articles does not establish an attorney-client relationship. In addition, because the subject matters and applicable laws discussed in Employer Report articles are often in a state of change and not always applicable to every type of business entity or organization, readers should consult with counsel before making decisions based on the same.