Nebraska
Workers' Comp Exemption
Nebraska generally applies the Workers’ Compensation Act once an employer has one or more employees in its regular business. Individual employers, partners, LLC members, and self-employed persons working substantially full time are not automatically employees; they may elect personal coverage in writing with the insurer. A corporate executive officer owning at least 25% is also outside the employee definition unless that officer elects coverage.
Entity types analyzed
- Sole proprietor
- LLC member
- Partner
- Corporate officer
Nebraska’s owner rules mostly work in the opposite direction from a certificate-based exemption system. A business with one or more covered employees generally must secure workers’ compensation, while certain owners are already outside the employee definition unless they affirmatively elect personal coverage with the insurer.
Nebraska generally applies the Workers’ Compensation Act once an employer has one or more employees in its regular business. Individual employers, partners, LLC members, and self-employed persons working substantially full time are not automatically employees; they may elect personal coverage in writing with the insurer. A corporate executive officer owning at least 25% is also outside the employee definition unless that officer elects coverage.
Owner treatment at a glance
Sole proprietorAn individual employer or self-employed person working substantially full time in the business is not automatically an employee under the Act. The person may elect coverage in writing with the workers' compensation insurer, and the election remains tied to that insurer until terminated or coverage ends.
LLC memberA substantially full-time LLC member is outside the employee definition unless the member elects coverage. A written election is filed with the workers' compensation insurer and remains effective for current and subsequent policies issued by that insurer until terminated or the insurer stops providing coverage.
PartnerA substantially full-time partner is not automatically an employee. The partner may elect coverage by written filing with the insurer; ordinary employees of the partnership remain subject to the employer's coverage obligations.
Corporate officerA corporate executive officer who owns 25% or more of the common stock is not an employee unless the officer elects coverage. An executive officer owning less than 25% is an employee. A qualifying 25%+ officer's written election is filed with the corporate secretary and insurer.
Nebraska’s general employer trigger is one employee
Neb. Rev. Stat. §48-106 says the Act applies to resident employers and nonresident employers performing work in Nebraska when they employ one or more employees in the employer’s regular trade, business, profession, or vocation, subject to the statute’s listed exceptions.
The Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court likewise tells workers that most Nebraska employers must have workers’ compensation insurance. An owner’s own excluded status does not erase this rule for employees who work for the business.
For a small business, the practical first question is whether anyone besides an excluded owner is an employee. If the answer is yes, the employer generally needs insurance or another authorized way to secure compensation under §48-145.
Individual employers, partners, and LLC members elect in rather than filing an exemption certificate
Section 48-115 identifies an individual employer, partner, LLC member, or self-employed person who is actually engaged in the business on a substantially full-time basis as someone who may elect to bring themself within the Act. The election is written and filed with the workers’ compensation insurer.
That structure means the owner is not waiting for the state to issue a generic exemption card. The owner begins outside the statutory employee definition in the qualifying fact pattern and chooses personal workers’ compensation coverage through the insurer when protection is desired.
The company’s employees remain separate. An LLC member can stay outside personal coverage while the LLC insures employees; a sole proprietor can elect personal coverage while also maintaining the employee policy that the business already needs.
The 25% corporate ownership line changes an executive officer’s default status
Nebraska draws a clear line for corporate executive officers. An executive officer who owns less than 25% of the corporation’s common stock is an employee under the Act. An executive officer who owns 25% or more is not an employee unless that officer elects coverage.
For the 25% or greater officer, the written election is filed with both the corporate secretary and the workers’ compensation insurer. The election becomes effective when the insurer receives it.
Because stock ownership controls the default status, capitalization changes matter. An officer who falls below 25% can move into employee status even though the title remains unchanged, while an officer who crosses above 25% should review whether personal coverage is still intended.
Nebraska owner elections follow the insurer until they are terminated or coverage ends
Section 48-115 states that a qualifying owner election remains effective for the current policy and subsequent policies issued by the same insurer. It continues until the owner terminates the election in writing or the insurer ceases to provide workers’ compensation coverage for the business.
This is not an annual certificate-renewal system. A new policy with the same insurer can carry the election forward, while a carrier change is a natural point to verify whether the election is still documented correctly.
For a corporate executive officer, a termination is also filed with the corporate secretary. Where a professional employer organization and master policy are involved, the statute adds filing rules that make it even more important to preserve the actual election record rather than relying on an informal owner memo.
Agriculture is a real exception, but the employee-count conditions are specific
Nebraska’s one-employee rule has statutory exceptions. Section 48-106 excludes certain agricultural employment, including an agricultural employer with only related employees and, under specified conditions, an employer with unrelated agricultural employees who stays below the statute’s ten-unrelated-full-time-employee test for thirteen calendar weeks.
That exception is narrower than saying “farm workers are exempt.” The statute contains detailed conditions and notice consequences, so an agricultural business should apply the actual text to its workforce rather than importing the ordinary business rule or assuming every farm is outside the Act.
For a construction, retail, service, or other non-agricultural business, this agriculture exception generally does not supply a workaround. The normal one-employee rule remains the starting point.
The first hire, stock change, or insurer change are Nebraska reset events
An owner-only sole proprietorship, partnership, or LLC can move into mandatory employer coverage when it hires its first covered employee. The owner’s own election status and the company’s obligation to cover that worker should be reviewed separately.
A corporation should monitor stock ownership of executive officers because the 25% line changes default employee status. A change in title without a stock change may have no effect, while a stock transaction can change workers’ compensation treatment immediately.
Finally, review owner elections whenever the insurer changes. Nebraska’s statute ties continuation to policies issued by the same insurer, so a carrier replacement is not the time to assume an old election simply follows the company without verification.
Nebraska owner checklist
- Apply Nebraska’s one-employee rule before relying on any owner status.
- Treat individual employers, partners, LLC members, and self-employed persons as election-in categories when the §48-115 conditions fit.
- For corporate executive officers, document whether common-stock ownership is below or at/above 25%.
- File owner elections with the insurer and preserve the insurer receipt/effective record.
- Do not assume a carrier change preserves an old election without review.
- Apply the specific agricultural exception only when its statutory workforce conditions are actually met.
Filing reference
Coverage ruleThe Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act generally applies to an employer that has one or more employees in the employer's regular trade, business, profession, or vocation, subject to specific statutory exceptions such as certain household domestic and agricultural employment.
Construction ruleThe cited Nebraska sources do not establish a separate construction employee-count trigger. The general one-employee rule applies unless a statutory exception is actually available; owner status does not erase the obligation to insure covered employees.
Form / electionNo universal owner-exemption certificate is identified in the cited Court materials; qualifying owners elect personal coverage in writing with the workers' compensation insurer under Neb. Rev. Stat. §48-115
RenewalA written owner election under §48-115 remains effective for the current and subsequent policies issued by the same insurer until the owner terminates the election in writing or the insurer ceases to provide coverage for the business.
Effective periodFor a qualifying corporate officer, the election becomes effective when the insurer receives it. For individual employers, partners, LLC members, and self-employed persons, the election likewise becomes effective on receipt by the insurer.
Responsible agency
Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court
Official source library
These are the state-agency, statutory, or state-board materials used for this guide. The page was last source-checked on 2026-08-26.