I. INTRODUCTION - ITEMIZED STATEMENT OF WAGES AND DEDUCTIONS
The Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act, specifically Neb.Rev.Stat. § 48-1230, was amended by the legislature during 2014. The failure of an individual to obtain itemized wage and deduction information from his employer in connection with an application for a loan prompted the legislature to revise the Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act hereinafter “the Act”.
II. LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE
During the 2014 legislative session, the provisions of Neb.Rev.Stat. § 48-1230 were amended to require employers to deliver or make available to each employee on each regular payday, by mail or electronically, or to provide at the employee’s normal place of employment during employment hours for all shifts a wage statement showing, at a minimum, the identity of the employer, the hours for which the employee was paid, the wages earned by the employee, and deductions made for the employee. Information relating to hours worked are not required to be provided for employees who are exempt from overtime under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, unless the employer has established a policy or practice of paying to or on behalf of exempt employees overtime, or bonus or a payment based on hours worked, in which case the employer shall send or otherwise provide a statement to the exempt employees showing the hours the employee worked or the payments made to the employee by the employer, as applicable.
III. PAYROLL DEBIT CARDS
During the 2014 legislative session, the Nebraska Wage Payment and Collection Act was amended to require an employer electing to pay wages with a payroll debit card (a stored-valued card issued by or on behalf of a federally insured financial institution that provides an employee with immediate access for withdrawal or transfer of his or her wages through a network of automatic teller machines, including payroll debit cards, payroll cards, and pay cards) to comply with the requirements of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. The bill also requires the employer to allow an employee at least one means of fund access withdrawal per pay period, but not more frequently than once per week, at no cost to the employee for an amount up to and including the total amount of the employee’s net wages as stated in the employee’s earnings statement and prohibits an employer from requiring an employee to pay any fees or costs incurred by the employer in connection with paying wages with a payroll debit card.