§ 48-145.01 — Employers; compensation required; penalty for failure to comply; injunction; Attorney General; duties

Nebraska § 48-145.01

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 48: Labor

Text

(1) Any employer required to secure
the payment of compensation under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act who
willfully fails to secure the payment of such compensation shall be guilty
of a Class I misdemeanor. If the employer is a corporation, limited liability
company, or limited liability partnership, any officer, member, manager, partner,
or employee who had authority to secure payment of compensation on behalf
of the employer and willfully failed to do so shall be individually guilty
of a Class I misdemeanor and shall be personally liable jointly and severally
with such employer for any compensation which may accrue under the act in
respect to any injury which may occur to any employee of such employer while
it so fails to secure the payment of compensation as required by section 48-145 .
(2) If an employer subject to the Nebraska Workers' Compensation
Act fails to secure the payment of compensation as required by section 48-145 ,
the employer may be enjoined from doing business in this state until the employer
complies with subdivision (1) of section 48-145 . If a temporary injunction
is granted at the request of the State of Nebraska, no bond shall be required
to make the injunction effective. The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court
or the district court may order an employer who willfully fails to secure
the payment of compensation to pay a monetary penalty of not more than one
thousand dollars for each violation. For purposes of this subsection, each
day of continued failure to secure the payment of compensation as required
by section 48-145 constitutes a separate violation. If the employer is a corporation,
limited liability company, or limited liability partnership, any officer,
member, manager, partner, or employee who had authority to secure payment
of compensation on behalf of the employer and willfully failed to do so shall
be personally liable jointly and severally with the employer for such monetary
penalty. All penalties collected pursuant to this subsection shall be remitted
to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section
5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.
(3) It shall be the duty of the Attorney General to act as
attorney for the State of Nebraska for purposes of this section. The Attorney
General may file a motion pursuant to section 48-162.03 for an order directing
an employer to appear before a judge of the compensation court and show cause
as to why a monetary penalty should not be assessed against the employer pursuant
to subsection (2) of this section. The Attorney General shall be considered
a party for purposes of such motion. The Attorney General may appear before
the compensation court and present evidence of a violation or violations pursuant
to subsection (2) of this section and the identity of the person who had authority
to secure the payment of compensation. Appeal from an order of a judge of
the compensation court pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be
in accordance with sections 48-182 and 48-185 .

Legislative History

Source: Laws 1971, LB 572, § 18; Laws 1977, LB 40, § 272; Laws 1986, LB 811, § 68; Laws 1993, LB 121, § 283; Laws 1999, LB 331, § 1; Laws 2005, LB 13, § 9; Laws 2011, LB151, § 2. Annotations: The word "willfully" herein is that failure by act or omission to act done knowingly and intentionally. Schademann v. Casey, 194 Neb. 149, 231 N.W.2d 116 (1975).