New Nebraska Law Creates Requirements for Health Care Staffing Agencies

On April 14, 2026, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill 921 (“LB 921”) into law. At a high level, the new law creates two distinct regulatory frameworks, both of which are relevant to health care employers. First, LB 921 creates a Nebraska-specific Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the “Nebraska WARN Act”) applicable to large employers statewide, requiring advance notice of certain layoffs and closures. The Nebraska WARN Act expands upon the federal WARN Act by imposing more stringent notice and compliance requirements.

Second, LB 921 also imposes new regulatory requirements on health care staffing agencies, including registration and operational restrictions that affect how facilities contract for temporary labor. With the passage of LB 921, Nebraska joins several states—including Iowa—that have adopted new requirements affecting health care employers.

Nebraska WARN Act

Beginning July 2026, the Nebraska WARN Act requires employers with 100 or more employees (excluding part-time employees) that are planning a business closing or mass layoff to provide 90 days’ advance written notice to affected employees. In practice, the law can be broken down into a few key threshold questions:

Which employers are affected by the Nebraska WARN Act?

Employers with 100 or more employees (excluding part-time employees).

What triggers the Nebraska WARN Act obligations?

Two distinct events can trigger obligations under the Nebraska WARN Act: (1) a business closing at a single site of employment or (2) a mass layoff at a single site of employment.

A “single site of employment” generally refers to a particular location or group of contiguous locations (such as a campus or business park) where employees work. A business closing occurs when a single site of employment temporarily or permanently shuts down, resulting in an employment loss for 100 or more employees at that site. A mass layoff is a reduction in force—unrelated to a business closing—that results in an employment loss for 100 or more employees at a single site of employment during any 30-day period. Under LB 921, part-time employees are excluded from the 100-employee threshold.

What is required?

Employers must provide at least 90 days’ advance written notice to (1) affected employees or their representatives, and (2) the Nebraska Department of Labor.

What must employers include in their notice?

The written notice to employees must include:

• The name and address of the affected worksite;
• The name and telephone number of a company official to contact for further information;
• A statement indicating whether the action is permanent or temporary, and whether the entire business is to be closed;
• The expected date and schedule of the anticipated employment loss;
• The name and job title of each affected employee; and
• Copies of applicable policies or handbooks (or instructions on how employees can access them through the date of termination).

In addition to the requirements listed above, when notifying the Nebraska Department of Labor, employers must also include the name and address of all affected employees. The Department of Labor must keep these records confidential.

How must the notice be delivered?

Employers have discretion in how written notice is delivered to affected employees individually. However, the notice must also be posted conspicuously at the affected worksite in any language spoken by at least five percent of the affected workforce.

Are there any exceptions to the 90 days’ advance written notice requirement?

Yes. The Nebraska WARN Act includes limited, narrowly construed exceptions, including:

• Unforeseeable business circumstances, such as a sudden, unexpected event leading to the layoff or closure;
• The faltering company exception, where the employer is actively seeking business or capital that could avoid the closure and reasonably believes notice would jeopardize those efforts; and
• Natural disasters, where the layoff or closure is the direct result of a disaster such as a flood or storm.

Even if an exception applies, however, employers must still provide as much notice as practicable and explain the reason for any shortened notice.

What are the penalties involved?

An employer who violates the notice obligations under the Nebraska WARN Act is subject to a civil penalty of up to $100 for each day of the violation. This civil penalty appears to be the exclusive remedy under the Nebraska WARN Act, as opposed to private damages suits.

Employers may reduce the 90-day notice period, however, by providing affected employees with pay in lieu of notice, so long as employees receive compensation equal to what they would have earned during the shortened notice period.

The federal WARN Act may also apply to covered layoffs and closures, either independently or alongside Nebraska’s new WARN requirements. Like LB 921, the federal WARN Act generally applies to employers with 100 or more employees and requires advance notice of certain layoffs and closures. However, the federal law differs in several areas. For example, the federal WARN Act is triggered for mass layoffs when, within a 30-day period, an employer lays off either (1) at least 50 employees representing 33 percent or more of the workforce at a single site of employment, or (2) 500 or more employees, regardless of percentage. Because Nebraska’s WARN Act uses a uniform 100‑employee threshold, it may require advance notice in situations where the federal WARN Act is not triggered.

Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act

LB 921 also creates a new regulatory framework governing health care staffing agencies operating in Nebraska. Beginning July 1, 2027, covered staffing agencies must register with the Nebraska Department of Labor and comply with a number of new operational requirements.

What is a “health care staffing agency?”

LB 921 defines “health care staffing agency” broadly to include both traditional staffing agencies and health care technology platforms. These platforms include online marketplaces that connect health care workers with open shifts at facilities, and allows a health care entity to set rates changeable only by contractual amendment. However, LB 921 is limited to staffing agencies for temporary workers that provide “direct services” to health care entities—meaning nursing services or other person-to-person contact. The practice of medicine, surgery, or osteopathic medicine; the practice of nursing by a Nurse Practitioner; and any services that do not involve direct or person-to-person contact with a patient or health care consumer are specifically excluded from the definition of “direct services.”

Who is required to register?

Starting July 1, 2027, all health care staffing agencies operating in Nebraska must register annually with the Department of Labor. Agencies must pay a $1,500 annual fee per physical location within the state. Agencies without a physical Nebraska location must complete a general registration and pay a single $1,500 annual fee.

What does registration require?

To maintain registration, agencies must document that each worker supplied to a health care facility complies with all applicable licensing, certification, registration, and other health care requirements.

Additionally, agencies and platforms must maintain a record for each worker and assume responsibility for maintaining and providing documents that would otherwise fall to the health care entity if the worker were treated as an employee. Health care technology platforms must make these records available on the platform itself. Both agencies and platforms should be prepared to produce any requested documentation for particular workers to external parties or regulators within fourteen days of a request. Even after an agency or platform ceases operations or otherwise exits the market, it must notify the Nebraska Department of Labor and maintain all business records for a period of two years following closure.

Agencies must also ensure that workers are covered by professional and general liability insurance of at least $1 million per occurrence and $3 million in the aggregate to insure against loss, damage, or expense incident resulting from a health care staffing agency’s or workers’ negligence or malpractice. In addition, the health care staffing agency must provide proof of workers’ compensation insurance coverage, self-insurance privilege, or a signed statement of exemption from the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act.

What are the renewal requirements?

Each year, at least 60 days before expiration, health care staffing agencies must renew their applications for registration to the Department of Labor, who will maintain a publicly available database of all registered staffing agencies.

What restrictions apply to registered agencies?

LB 921 also imposes several notable contractual restrictions. Health care staffing agencies are prohibited from:

• including noncompete provisions in contracts with workers or health care facilities; and
• requiring liquidated damages, conversion fees, or other compensation if a worker accepts a full-time position with a health care facility—commonly referred to as a “finder’s fee” provision.

Importantly, the law states that any contract containing such a prohibited clause is void or unenforceable in court.

How will the Department of Labor enforce registration compliance?

LB 921 grants the Nebraska Department of Labor broad authority to enforce health care staffing agency registration and compliance requirements. The Department may investigate complaints submitted by the public and is also authorized to conduct random audits of staffing agencies operating in Nebraska, with at least three business days’ notice. If an agency fails to cooperate with an investigation or audit, the Department may seek enforcement through a court-issued subpoena.

If the Department determines that an agency has violated registration requirements or other provisions of the Act, it may impose escalating penalties. Civil penalties may reach up to $500 for a first violation and up to $5,000 for each subsequent violation. In addition, the Department has discretion to revoke an agency’s registration for up to one year, effectively preventing the agency from operating in the Nebraska market during that period.

Bottom Line

Although the health care staffing provisions do not take effect until 2027, LB 921 introduces immediate planning considerations for health care employers and staffing agencies. The Nebraska Department of Labor may adopt or promulgate rules for the Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act.

Employers should evaluate how the law will affect applicable staffing agency relationships, including registration and contractual arrangements, as well as their approach to workforce reductions under the Nebraska WARN Act.

Sapphire M. Andersen
Paul Pechous, Summer Associate