On April 14, 2026, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed legislation that prohibits noncompete agreements and adds registration requirements for healthcare staffing agencies in the state. The law will take effect on July 1, 2027.
Quick Hits
- Nebraska’s Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act (LB921) puts forth a variety of new compliance obligations for healthcare staffing agencies in the state.
- The law bars the use of noncompete agreements by healthcare staffing agencies.
- The law will take effect on July 1, 2027.
Nebraska’s Health Care Staffing Agency Registration Act (Legislative Bill (LB) 921) requires healthcare staffing agencies to register with the Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL). This includes individuals and business entities that supply one or more temporary workers to provide direct services in a separate, third-party healthcare entity. The law applies to traditional staffing firms and modern healthcare technology platforms or app-based marketplaces that allow workers to bid on or select open shifts posted by healthcare facilities. If a healthcare staffing agency closes or ceases to act as a healthcare staffing agency, it must notify the NDOL and maintain all files and records relating to its business for two years.
Registered staffing agencies must ensure each worker complies with federal and state licensing, certification, registration, and healthcare requirements, and they must document that the healthcare worker meets the minimum requirements for the position into which the healthcare worker is placed. Staffing agencies may not enforce noncompete agreements with workers or healthcare facilities.
Furthermore, staffing agencies may not require payment of liquidated damages, employment fees, or other compensation if a worker is subsequently hired as a permanent employee of a healthcare entity. There are two exceptions to that rule: (1) payments made solely by a healthcare entity pursuant to a contract with a healthcare staffing agency that provides that the payment amount will be reduced pro rata for each hour of service the worker performs for the entity while on the payroll of a staffing agency and that the amount will be reduced to zero upon completion of 720 hours of service; and (2) payments made by a foreign worker whom the staffing agency assisted in obtaining authorization to work in the United States, and the worker was assigned to a single healthcare entity for an initial term at least twenty-four months.
Next Steps
Healthcare staffing agencies may wish to prepare for filing the necessary registration paperwork with the NDOL and revise their policies and practices regarding noncompete clauses before the new law takes effect on July 1, 2027. Violations of this law may result in a civil penalty of $500 for a first offense, $5,000 for each offense thereafter, or having a registration revoked for a year. This revocation shall apply to all locations of the healthcare staffing agency.
This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.
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