New hire reporting to state directory
Nebraska requires all employers to report newly hired and re-hired employees to the Nebraska State Directory of New Hires within 20 days of the hire date. The requirement applies to all employees who reside or work in Nebraska, including those who work only one day. Re-hired employees who return to work after 60 or more consecutive days without pay must also be reported. Employers must report the employee's name, address, Social Security number, and the date of hire (the first day the employee performs services for pay).
E-Verify requirement for public employers and contractors
Nebraska requires every public employer and public contractor to register with and use E-Verify (the federal electronic verification of work authorization program under 8 U.S.C. § 1324a) to determine the work eligibility status of new employees physically performing services within Nebraska. This requirement took effect October 1, 2009, under Legislative Bill 403.
Covered entities
"Public employer" means any agency or political subdivision of the State of Nebraska — state agencies, boards, commissions, counties, cities, school districts, and other governmental entities. "Public contractor" means any contractor or subcontractor awarded a contract by a public employer for the physical performance of services within Nebraska. Every contract between a public employer and a public contractor must contain a provision requiring the contractor to use E-Verify for new employees physically performing services in the state.
Private employer exemption with tax-incentive exception
Private employers not doing business with a public employer are not required to use E-Verify under Nebraska law. However, private employers who participate in certain Nebraska tax incentive programs — including the Nebraska Advantage Act, Nebraska Advantage Rural Development Act, Nebraska Advantage Microenterprise Tax Credit Act, and Nebraska Advantage Research and Development Act — must use E-Verify for all newly hired employees employed in Nebraska as a condition of receiving those incentives. The same LB 403 amendments codified this requirement across the incentive statutes (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 77-27,187 to 77-27,195; §§ 77-5701 to 77-5735; §§ 77-5801 to 77-5807; §§ 77-5901 to 77-5907).
Timing and scope
E-Verify verification applies to "new employees" — those hired on or after October 1, 2009 (for public employers and contractors), or on or after the application date for a tax incentive program (for private-sector incentive participants). The statute does not permit verification of existing employees except to the extent authorized for federal contractors under separate federal E-Verify rules. Contracts awarded by a public employer before October 1, 2009, are not subject to the E-Verify requirement.
Federal I-9 baseline
All Nebraska employers — public, private, contractors, and non-contractors — remain subject to the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) requirement to complete Form I-9 for every employee within three business days of hire and to retain the I-9 for three years after hire or one year after separation, whichever is later (8 U.S.C. § 1324a; 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2). Nebraska does not impose any state-specific I-9 form, additional retention period, or separate work-authorization documentation beyond what federal law already requires. The E-Verify mandate under § 4-114 is an overlay on the federal I-9 process for the covered public-sector and incentive-participant employers.
Proposed expansion
In 2025, Legislative Bill 532 was introduced to require private employers with 25 or more employees to use E-Verify beginning January 1, 2026, with penalties including business-license suspension for non-compliance. As of May 2026, LB 532 has not been enacted; the requirement remains limited to public employers, public contractors, and tax-incentive participants.
Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 4-114 Source: Nebraska Department of Revenue, E-Verify Notice