Nebraska — Workplace Safety

Nebraska does not operate an OSHA-approved state plan. Federal OSHA exercises direct jurisdiction over most private-sector employers and workers in the state. State and local government employees are not covered by federal OSHA and therefore have no workplace safety and health enforcement coverage under the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

Source: OSHA State Plans

Nebraska law was materially amended by LB 397 (effective July 18, 2026), which altered the longstanding requirement for workplace safety committees. As of the LB 397 effective date, only public employers subject to the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act are required to establish a workplace safety committee and maintain an effective written injury prevention program under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443. The prior statutory committee requirement for private employers has been repealed.

Current Requirement for Public Employers (as of July 18, 2026)

• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443 now states: "Every public employer subject to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act shall establish a safety committee and adopt and maintain an effective written injury prevention program ...."
• There is no longer any express statutory safety committee or written safety program requirement for private employers in Nebraska. Previous obligations under this section for private employers were removed by operation of LB 397.
• Committee composition and selection for public employers:
• Public employers with collective bargaining agreements must establish the committee through the bargaining process (§ 48-443(2)(a)).
• For public employers without such agreements, the committee must have equal numbers of employee and employer representatives, with employee member selection by internal procedures outlined by the employer (§ 48-443(2)(b)).
• Employees serving on the committee must be compensated at their regular wage and benefits, and retaliation for workplace safety complaints is prohibited (§ 48-443(3)-(4)).
• Professional employer organization (PEO) clients that are public entities must establish their own committee (§ 48-443(1)(b)).

Summary of the 2026 changes:

• LB 397 (2026) repealed the private employer committee/program requirement and repealed the penalty and rulemaking provisions in §§ 48-444 and 48-445.
• The obligation to establish and maintain a safety committee and injury prevention program remains ONLY for public employers subject to the act.
• There is no longer a financial penalty for noncompliance and there is no current explicit rulemaking authority vested in the Commissioner of Labor for this provision.

Statutory references to safety committee requirements for previous years should be read in light of these changes as of July 18, 2026.

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443 (2026 amendment) Source: LB 397 — Laws 2026, effective July 18, 2026

Nebraska’s safety committee requirement applies to every employer (public or private) who is subject to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act, with no minimum employee count or size threshold. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443(1) requires that "Every public and private employer subject to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act shall establish a safety committee and adopt and maintain an effective written injury prevention program..." Nowhere in the statute is there an exemption for small employers based on workforce size.

No headcount exemption

• The obligation attaches to all covered employers, regardless of whether the workforce includes one employee or several hundred.
• Consequently, even a very small business, if required to provide workers' compensation coverage under Nebraska law, must establish a committee and maintain a written safety program.

Small-employer reprieve — annual meeting for ten or fewer, if claim-free Department of Insurance safety guidance clarifies that employers with ten or fewer employees who have had no injuries, illnesses, or claims in the preceding twelve months may hold the safety committee meeting just once per year (citing 210 NAC § 6-002). Larger employers, or any employer with claims, must hold meetings more frequently (commonly quarterly). This is strictly a meeting frequency accommodation, not an exemption from the committee formation or program requirement itself.

In summary: As of June 16, 2026, there is no minimum employee count below which Nebraska employers are excused from establishing a safety committee under § 48-443. All covered employers must comply, though employers of ten or fewer employees with a clean safety record may meet just once a year.

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443 Source: Nebraska Residual Market WC Plan Safety Requirements

Nebraska law requires that every public and private employer subject to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act adopt and maintain an "effective written injury prevention program" as part of its workplace safety compliance obligations (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443(1)). However, the statute itself does not enumerate the mandatory components or substantive content that such a program must include.

Primary statute — no detailed elements in § 48-443 Section 48-443 sets forth the employer’s obligation to have a "written injury prevention program" but does not define what constitutes an "effective" program or list specific required topics, procedures, or forms. The focus remains on the existence, written form, and maintenance of the program. As of June 16, 2026, the Nebraska Legislature has not amended § 48-443 to include a statutory definition or itemized requirements for content of the injury prevention program. Nor does the civil penalty section (§ 48-444) speak to program content, only to the existence of the requirement itself.

Regulations and agency guidance Regulations issued by the Nebraska Department of Labor (NAC Title 230, Chapter 6) are expressly referenced in connection with safety committee composition and selection of employee representatives, but do not appear to provide detailed substantive requirements or a checklist for injury prevention program contents. No official Nebraska Department of Labor or Department of Insurance online publications provide a model program or enumerate elements required to satisfy the "effective written" standard as of this date. Published regulatory materials are silent on substantive content, focusing on committee formation, records, and meeting frequency for small employers (see 230 NAC 6-003 thru 6-005).

Department of Insurance guidance The Nebraska Department of Insurance has published workplace safety guidance describing general expectations for injury prevention programs — such as identifying workplace hazards, reporting procedures, communication, and training — but this is advisory in nature and does not carry the force of law or regulation. Only the statutory existence requirement is binding.

In summary: As of June 16, 2026, Nebraska law requires employers to maintain an effective written injury prevention program, but neither statute nor regulation defines the core elements or provides a checklist. Compliance is currently measured by the program’s existence and use, not by presence of government-prescribed topics or features.

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443 Source: Nebraska Administrative Code Title 230, Ch. 6 Source: Nebraska Residual Market WC Plan Safety Requirements

For Nebraska employers required to establish a safety committee who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, the process for selecting employee members is governed by Nebraska Administrative Code, Title 230, Chapter 6, Section 002. The procedures are:

• The employer must provide written notice to all employees, inviting volunteers to fill the employee-member seats on the safety committee (230 NAC § 6-002.01).
• If more employees volunteer than there are seats available, the employee members are chosen at random from among the volunteers (230 NAC § 6-002.02).
• If not enough employees volunteer to fill all committee seats, the remaining employee members are selected at random by the employer from among all other employees (230 NAC § 6-002.03).
• The names of those selected must be made available to all employees (230 NAC § 6-002.04).
• The selection process for employee members must be offered at least once every two years unless a collective bargaining agreement provides otherwise (230 NAC § 6-002.05). Employer representatives need not rotate, but staggered terms for either group are expressly allowed.

These procedures ensure the process is not at the employer's sole discretion and must be visibly fair to the workforce, as codified in regulation. For the complete text and definitions, see the official regulatory PDF linked below.

Scheduled change: Legislative Bill 397 (LB 397), enacted in 2026 and effective July 18, 2026, will repeal the statutory and regulatory requirement for workplace safety committees for private (non-public) employers and eliminate the underlying regulatory requirements, including employee-member selection procedures. After July 18, 2026, these selection procedures will no longer apply to private employers in Nebraska. Public employer requirements continue under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-443 as amended. Practitioners should confirm current status and review new guidance post-effective date.

Source: 230 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 6 § 002 Source: LB 397 — Laws 2026, effective July 18, 2026