(1) All employees shall begin accruing paid sick time after eighty hours of consecutive employment, at which point employees shall then accrue a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every thirty hours worked. Unless the employer selects a higher limit, this section does not entitle an employee to earn or use more than:

(a) Forty hours of paid sick time in a year for an employee of a small business; or

(b) Fifty-six hours of paid sick time in a year for an employee of an employer that is not a small business.

(2) Employees who are exempt from overtime requirements under 29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1) or 29 U.S.C. 213(b)(1) of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq., shall be assumed to work forty hours in each workweek for purposes of paid sick time accrual unless their typical workweek is less than forty hours, in which case paid sick time accrues based upon that typical workweek.

(3) Paid sick time requirements provided under the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act shall begin October 1, 2025. An employee shall be entitled to use paid sick time as it is accrued. An employer may provide all paid sick time that an employee is expected to accrue in a year at the beginning of the year.

(4) Paid sick time provided to an employee on or after January 1, 2025, and before October 1, 2025, shall be counted toward an employer's obligations under the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act for calendar year 2025.

(5) Accrued paid sick time shall be carried over to the following year. A small business is not required to permit an employee to use more than forty hours of paid sick time per year, and other employers are not required to permit an employee to use more than fifty-six hours of paid sick time per year.

(6) In lieu of carryover of unused paid sick time provided pursuant to this section from one year to the next, an employer may pay an employee for unused paid sick time provided pursuant to this section at the end of a year and provide the employee with an amount of paid sick time that meets or exceeds the requirements of subsections (1) and (3) of this section that is available for the employee's immediate use at the beginning of the subsequent year.

(7) Any employer with a paid leave policy, such as a paid time off policy, who makes available an amount of paid leave that equals or exceeds the requirements of the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act and that may be used as paid sick time in accordance with section 48-3804 is not required to provide additional paid sick time under the act and is not obligated to allow an employee to accrue or carryover benefits beyond the employer's existing paid leave policy.

(8) At its discretion, an employer may loan paid sick time to an employee in advance of accrual by such employee.

(9) If an employee is transferred to a separate division, entity, or location, but remains employed by the same employer, the employee is entitled to all paid sick time accrued at the prior division, entity, or location and is entitled to use all paid sick time as provided in the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act. When there is a separation from employment and the employee is rehired within twelve months of separation by the same employer, previously accrued paid sick time that had not been used or paid out to the employee shall be reinstated. The employee shall be entitled to use accrued paid sick time and accrue additional paid sick time at the recommencement of employment.

(10) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require employers to pay an employee for unused paid sick time upon the employee's separation from employment.