Session Review: Business and Labor

A bill brought by the Business and Labor Committee and considered as part of the Legislature’s budget package was vetoed by the governor this session, although senators overrode the veto.

LB1072 approved claims exceeding $50,000 authorized by the state claims board. Senators approved the measure March 27 on a 42-4 vote, but Gov. Dave Heineman subsequently vetoed the payment of outstanding debt related to the privatization of the child welfare system. The provision approved claims totaling $2.5 million made by subcontractors of Boys and Girls Home – a former lead contract agency with the state Department of Health and Human Services that since has declared bankruptcy.

In his veto letter, the governor said the subcontractors were not directly engaged in a contract with the state of Nebraska and that paying them would make taxpayers responsible for debts incurred by a private organization.

Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop filed a motion to override the governor’s veto, saying the state has a responsibility to pay the claims because providers rendered services required by law.

Senators voted 31-12 to pass LB1072 April 3, notwithstanding the objections of the governor. Thirty votes were needed to do so.

The committee also considered a bill dealing with employee recommendations.

Fremont Sen. Charlie Janssen introduced LB959, passed on a 45-0 vote, which provides immunity to a current or former employer who provides certain information to a prospective employer only upon written consent of the prospective employee.

A consent form will be provided during the application process and will be valid only for the length of time that the application is considered active by the prospective employer but no longer than six months.

An employer providing information pursuant to a written consent will be immune from civil liability and presumed to be acting in good faith. The good faith presumption may be rebutted upon a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the information was known to be false or that the employer acted with malice or reckless disregard for the truth.

A bill related to job training was held in committee.

Under LB1152, introduced by Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop, recipients of unemployment benefits would have been eligible for job training funded by the state Department of Labor.