Nebraskans for Paid Sick Leave is a ballot question committee established to campaign in support of Nebraska Initiative 436, a 2024 ballot initiative that will mandate that employers provide mandatory paid sick leave accruement for employees. The campaign spent over $660,000 as of its filing at the beginning of October 2024 and has partnered with a number of left-of-center organizations in Nebraska as well as the Soros Network-affiliated Open Society Policy Center. ^{1 2}

Founding and History

In 2023, a ballot initiative to mandate paid sick leave for workers in Nebraska qualified for the ballot for the fall of 2024 election. The initiative was filed as Nebraska Initiative 436 or the Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans Initiative. ³

Nebraskans for Paid Sick Leave was registered as a ballot question committee in June of 2023. From that time until November 2024, it spent hundreds of thousands of dollars campaigning for the passage of the initiative. ³

Financials

As of the period ending October 1, 2024, Nebraskans for Paid Sick Leave reported $591,171.91 in revenue and $666,446.43 in expenditures, with $168,350.98 cash on hand. Expenditures included in-kind donations. ²

Major funders of the initiative include the Nebraska Appleseed Action Fund, which contributed $223,717.51; the Fairness Project, which contributed $137,512.99; and the Soros Network-affiliated Open Society Policy Center, which contributed $100,000. ²

Ballot Initiative 436

Ballot Initiative 436 would mandate that employers with under 20 employees would allow employees to accumulate up to 40 hours of paid sick leave and employees with 20 or more employees would allow for 56 hours. There are additional elements concerning workplace retaliation-prevention rules governing the use of sick pay and enforcement of the rule. ¹

Nebraskans for Paid Sick Leave asserted that the law will not cost employers much at all, and that if anything it will save companies potential losses from having sick employees. It also claims that employees seldom use their fully allotted sick leave. ⁴

Partner Organizations

A large number of left-of-center institutions and membership organizations supported Ballot Initiative 436. These include the ACLU of Nebraska, the Nebraska State AFL-CIO, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska, and the Woman’s Fund of Omaha. ¹

Notably, Jo Giles, the executive director of the Woman’s Fund of Omaha, is listed in state filings as the treasurer of the campaign. ³

Leadership

Jo Giles is the treasurer of Nebraskans for Paid Sick Leave and the executive director of the Woman’s Fund of Omaha. This fund works to promote left-of-center causes under the framework of “equity” and “intersectionality.” Giles has previously worked as a television reporter and as a trainer for the Coalition for a Strong Nebraska. ^{3 5}

Noelle Obermeyer is the assistant treasurer for Nebraskans for Paid Sick Leave and is an assistant public defender for Douglas Couty, Nebraska. She has previously held various political campaign positions and worked as an assistant city prosecutor for the City of Omaha Law Department. ⁶

1. “Paid Sick Leave For Nebraskans.” Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://paidsickleavefornebraskans.org/.
2. “2024 STATEWIDE ELECTIONS – 1ST GENERAL CAMPAIGN STATEMENT (FORM B-1).” Nebraska.gov. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://nadc-e.nebraska.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/PublicMaster.master.
3. “Entity Detail:  NEBRASKANS FOR PAID SICK LEAVE.” Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://nadc-e.nebraska.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/PublicMaster.master.
4. “Paid Sick Leave Is Good for Nebraska Business.” Paid Sick Leave for Nebraskans. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://paidsickleavefornebraskans.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/PSL_Good-For-Business.pdf.
5. “Jo Giles.” Women’s Fund of Omaha. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://www.omahawomensfund.org/staff/jo-giles/.
6. “Noelle Obermeyer | LinkedIn.” LinkedIn.com. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/noelle-obermeyer-4653768/.