The Nevada 2025 Legislative Session is currently underway, and there are a number of bills that have been introduced that may immediately impact Nevada employers. Below is a list of the notable employment bills that could take effect as early as June 3, 2025:
AB 112 – Potential Removal of CBA Exemption from NRS 608.1975
AB 112 seeks to revise NRS 608.1975, which currently requires employers who provide paid or unpaid sick leave to allow employees to use that sick leave to care for an immediate family member. Currently, employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement are exempted from this law, but AB 112 would remove that exemption from NRS 608.1975(6). If passed, this bill would require any collective bargaining agreement entered into after October 1, 2025 to comply with AB 112.
AB 179 – Potential Removal of CBA Exemption and Clarifies Retaliatory Conduct in NRS 608.197
AB 179 seeks to revise NRS 608.197, which currently requires employers with 50+ employees to provide employees with paid leave of 0.01923 hours per hour worked (approximately 1 week per year for a full-time employee), and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for using such leave. Currently, employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement are exempted from the law and the law does not specify the type of conduct that constitutes unlawful retaliation. AB 179 would remove the exemption from NRS 608.197(8) for employees subject to a collective bargaining agreement, and would also introduce new language to the statute regarding the types of adverse employment actions that may constitute illegal retaliation including dismissing, suspending, demoting, reprimanding, transferring, and considering the use of leave when issuing a disciplinary action against an employee. If passed, this bill would require any collective bargaining agreement entered into after October 1, 2025 to comply with AB 179.
AB 215 – Additional Restrictions on Employment of Minor Workers
AB 215 seeks to revise NRS 609.240 to include a new section that restricts the employment of minors under the age of 16 from working more than 48 hours in a week, or more than 8 hours in a day. AB 215 seeks to include additional restrictions upon the employment of minors that are enrolled in high school, over the age of 16 but under the age of 19, and that have not been emancipated. Under the new law, students would be precluded from working between the hours of 10pm and 5am, unless the students are employed as a performer in a motion picture or work on a farm. However, a school district or juvenile court may grant an exemption if it is “in the best interest of the child.” If passed, the bill would go into effect immediately.
AB 255 – Potential Restrictions Upon Employer Use of Contract Provisions Clawing Back Payments Made to Employees and Prospective Employees
AB 255 seeks to revise NRS 613 to include a new statute that precludes an employer from including language in an employment agreement requiring the employee to repay “any sum of money if the employee leaves the employment of the employer” before the passage of a specified period. AB 255 also seeks to preclude the same language from being incorporated into an agreement with an independent contractor. Any attempt to waive the provisions of the new law would be considered “contrary to public policy, void and unenforceable,” and an employer that violates the law would be subject to potential administrative penalties from the Labor Commissioner, a lawsuit by the Attorney General, and the employee may sue for damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees. If passed, this bill would go into effect and apply to any contract or agreement entered into on or after October 1, 2025.
AB 388 – Potential Imposition of 12-Week Paid Pregnancy Leave Law
AB 388 seeks to revise NRS 608 to implement sweeping reform to Nevada’s pregnancy-related leave law, and would require all employers with 50+ employees in Nevada to provide 12 weeks of paid family leave to each employee who has been employed for more than 90 days. AB 388 would require employers to establish reasonable procedures and forms for an employee to take paid family leave, written notice to employees relating to the paid family leave offered by the employer, and would allow an employee to sue for damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees for violations of the law. If passed, this bill would go into effect on January 1, 2026.
AB 390 – Expansive Rights for Gig Workers to Collectively Bargain
AB 390 seeks to revise Nevada law to allow “task workers” who perform tasks based upon a request from a user through an internet website or mobile application to perform a task (i.e. gig worker) a variety of rights under Nevada law. AB 390 would allow task workers to organize and form work organizations and engage in collective bargaining, allow task worker organizations to submit complaints to the Government Employee-Management Relations Board (EMRB)—a board created to handle complaints associated with the collective bargaining rights of public employees—and allow the EMRB to establish regulation regarding bargaining units for task workers, oversight over elections and the collective bargaining process, and arbitration procedures to resolve any disputes. Once a tentative agreement is reached, it must be approved by the Labor Commissioner. Any disputes regarding the determinations of either the EMRB or Labor Commissioner may be appealed through a petition for judicial review. Task delivery platforms—including Uber, Lyft, Grubhub, etc.—must ensure task workers are “paid for each hour the task worker works” in an amount not less than minimum wage. Task workers may initiate litigation for any damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys’ fees and costs for violations of the new law. If passed, this bill would go into effect on October 1, 2025.
SB 160 – Moves NERC from DETR to Attorney General’s Office and Changes Investigative Procedures
SB 160 seeks to revise Nevada law to move the Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) from the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to the Office of the Attorney General, and allow the Attorney General to appoint members of the Commission and the Administrator of the Commission on or after July 1, 2025. SB 160 also would require NERC to consider any “historical data available relating to the discriminatory practices of the private employer when determining whether an investigation is warranted,” and thus any prior NERC investigations or charges may impact the Commission’s determination. The new law would also require NERC to complete an investigation within 18 months after receipt of the complaint, and would allow NERC to impose progressive civil penalties against employers with more than 50 employees for unlawful employment practices, including $5,000 for the first violation, $10,000 for the second violation, and $15,000 for the third violation. If passed, this bill would go into effect on January 1, 2026.
SB 198 – Potential Modification to Employer Final Pay Obligations
SB 198 seeks to revise NRS 608.020—NRS 608.040, which govern an employer’s obligations to provide a final paycheck of all earned and unpaid compensation to an employee, to expand the definition of “compensation” to include any “fringe benefits” owed to the employee. NRS 608.040 would also be amended to require employers to pay former employees no later than 5p.m. the calendar day immediately following the day the wages became due, and require an employer to pay 1 ½ times the employee’s “hourly wage rate” for each day or portion of the day that the compensation is not paid for up to 30 days. In essence, employers would now be required to pay employees that have been discharged or terminated from employment the day after the discharge. Additionally, cannabis establishments would also be required to comply with this law, and any violations of the law may be grounds to suspend a cannabis establishment’s license. If passed, this bill would go into effect immediately.
SB 204 – Potential Changes to Agricultural Worker Contracts
SB 204 seeks to revise NRS 608 to allow an employer of an H2-A visa herder, which is a temporary visa issued to workers of certain qualifying agricultural programs, to enter into an agreement with the worker regarding the hours of employment, meal periods, rest periods, and any other periods when the herder has “complete freedom from all duties.” If any periods of “complete freedom from all duties” are interrupted, the herder must be paid for the hours worked during that time. If passed, this bill would go into effect immediately.
SB 291 – Potential Expansion of Employee Data Privacy Rights Under NRS 603A
SB 291 seeks to revise NRS 603A, which provides protections to certain private personal data and biometric data collected by a business, to afford protection to employees for any data breaches. Currently, NRS 603A requires businesses that collect certain private personal information to implement reasonable security measures to protect that data in accordance with the CIS Controls or National Institute of Standards and Technology, maintain collection and destruction policies, and notify individuals if the private personal information has been shared with an unauthorized person (a “data breach”). The new law would require employers to provide notice of data breaches to current and former employees within 30 days after discovery or notification of the breach, and provide the current and former employees with credit protection for the following year at no cost to the employee. The new law would also amend NRS 613 to incorporate a new statute to prohibit an employer from retaliating against an employee that files a formal complaint alleging the employer has not complied with the requirements of NRS 603A.210. Additionally, the new bill would restrict the employer’s ability to obtain a prospective employee’s social security number, and would only allow the collection of a prospective employee’s social security number to: (1) perform a background check, (2) obtain a security clearance or evaluate whether the candidate has a security clearance, (3) perform pre-employment screening that is authorized by law, or (4) to comply with state or federal law. If passed, the bill would go into effect on January 1, 2027.
As these bills make their way through the legislative process, we will continue to keep you apprised of important developments. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your TALG attorney for further information.
