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Nevada Legislative Updates
July 01, 2019
On June 12, 2019, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed legislation that makes four key changes to Nevada law. The effective dates of these laws will phase in over the coming years, and we have outlined the key details of the laws below.
Minimum Wage Increase
Over the coming years, minimum wage will increase by .75 cents each year until it reaches $12 an hour. Beginning on July 1, 2020, when employers who offer employees with qualified health benefit plans will then be required to pay employees a minimum of $8 per hour and employers who do not provide health benefits will be required to pay employees a minimum wage of $9 per hour. Paylocity will automatically update the rates in our system as they become effective.
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Employee Right to Collectively Bargain
State employees in classified service and those employed by the Nevada System of Higher Education in the classified service of the state or who are required to be paid in accordance with the pay plan for the classified service will be able to organize and choose a representative for collective bargaining to negotiate wages, hours and terms of employment. This is effective immediately.
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Paid Sick Leave
Beginning January 1, 2020, private employers with 50 or more employees will be required to provide paid sick leave benefits to their employees.
Accrual: Employees will be entitled to at least 0.01923 hours of paid leave for each hour of work performed, up to 40 hours. Employers may provide leave on an accrual or fractional basis and may enforce a 90-day probationary period. The bill states the employer may limit the use of this paid leave to 40 hours per 12-month benefit period. The maximum amount of carryover the employee is entitled to is 40 hours.
Approved Uses: The bill states that an employee does not need to provide documentation or disclose a reason for taking leave.
Reporting Requirements: Employers must maintain a record of accrual and use of paid leave for a period of at least one year, which must be made available to the Labor Commissioner upon request. Employers must also provide to each employee on each payday the hours of paid leave available for use by that employee. Employers may provide the accounting through the payroll system used to pay their employees.
Paylocity will support the accrual of this paid leave. This new accrual code will be available to add to your employees prior to 1/1/2020.
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Applicant Drug Testing
Effective January 1, 2020, employers will be prohibited from denying employment because of the presence of marijuana in a screening test taken by a job applicant. The law also creates certain exceptions to that prohibition and provides employees with an opportunity to rebut a positive screening test.
On November 8, 2016, Nevada voters passed a ballot measure that legalized the purchase, possession, and consumption of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. Even though marijuana became legal on January 1, 2017, how a consumer buys it, how much they can have at one time, and where they can use it are still restricted by the law.
It will be unlawful for employers to fail or refuse to hire prospective employees because their drug screening test results indicate the presence of marijuana.
However, this prohibition does not apply to applicants for positions including:
- A firefighter,
- An emergency medical technician,
- Those that require an employee to operate a motor vehicle,
- Those for which federal or state law requires the employee to submit to screening tests, or
- Those that in the employer’s determination, could adversely affect the safety of others.
Where employers require an employee to submit to a screening test within the first 30 days of employment, the employee will have the right to take another screening test at the employee’s own expense in order to rebut the results of the initial screening test. The employer is required to accept and give appropriate consideration to the results of the additional screening test.
These requirements do not apply to the extent they are inconsistent with or otherwise conflict with the provisions of an employment contract, collective bargaining agreement, or federal law, or to an employment position funded by federal grant.
Next Steps
We are monitoring these laws for further detail and will provide as they come available.
Thank you for choosing Paylocity as your Payroll Tax and HCM partner.
This information is provided as a courtesy, may change and is not intended as legal or tax guidance. Employers with questions or concerns outside the scope of a Payroll Service Provider are encouraged to seek the advice of a qualified CPA, Tax Attorney or Advisor.
Date Posted: July 01, 2019
