Certain employers in the agricultural and farming industry are exempt from providing mandatory workers’ compensation insurance for their employees under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act if they employ less than 10 full-time employees (other than family members). However, to benefit from this exemption, the law requires that any qualifying employer must affirmatively provide the following written notice to each and every employee at the time of his or her hiring, or at least 31 days prior to the date of such employee’s injury: “In this employment you will not be covered by the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act, and you will not be compensated under the act if you are injured on the job or suffer an occupational disease. You should plan accordingly.” The employer must have the notice signed by the employee and retained in the employee’s personnel records. If an employer who otherwise qualifies for this exemption fails to provide such notice or to get it signed and retained, then the exemption does not apply, and the employer must provide workers’ compensation insurance. From our experience, most of our clients who would otherwise qualify for this exemption (e.g., small family farming operations) are not aware of and/or have not provided their employees such notice. Considering that farming is one of the most dangerous industries, this is a series of disasters waiting to happen. If you are an agricultural or farming employer and you believe you are exempt from providing mandatory workers’ compensation insurance to your employees under Nebraska law, we encourage you to review your personnel records for this notice, and to contact us with any questions or concerns.
