Membership Updates

Priority items you need to know!

Membership Renewals

Renewal invoices will be going out in the next few weeks. Keep an eye open for an email from us! Remember, invoices must be paid no later than the date of our Annual Meeting, usually toward the end of February.

Legislation Updates: Minimum Wage, Salaries, and Sick Leave

There are a number of legislative items coming down the pike that will likely affect most of our members and other local businesses. We'll give you a brief rundown on each, but we'd encourage you to research them yourselves and have a plan in place to implement each as necessary.

• Minimum Wage
• Minimum wage will increase on January 1, 2025 to $13.50 per hour. This wage will be in effect through December 31, 2025 and will jump to $15.00 per hour on January 1, 2026. We encourage all members who don't already have a plan in place to enact these changes to do so sooner rather than later.
• Bottom line: Minimum wage increase to $13.50/hr on 01/01/25.
• Salaries
• In an effort to expand overtime protections for lower-paid salary workers, the Biden-Harris administration has announced a final rule that increases the salary thresholds required to exempt a salaried bona fide executive, administrative, or professional employee from federal overtime pay requirements. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, the U.S. Department of Labor rule will increase the standard salary level and the highly compensated employee total compensation threshold on July 1, 2024, January 1, 2025, and every three years after. Key provisions of the final rule include: expanding overtime protections to lower-paid salary workers, giving more workers pay or valuable time back with their family, and providing for regular updates to ensure predictability.
• Bottom line: Standard salary levels will increase from $844/week ($43,888/year) to $1,128/week ($58,656/year) and highly compensated employee total annual compensation threshold will increase from $132,964/year (at least $844/week) to $151,164/year ($1,128/year). More information here.
• Sick Leave
• In November, Nebraska voters will decide if businesses in the state will be required to offer paid sick leave to their employees. Nebraska Economic Developers Association (NEDA) lobbyists and other experts are expecting this legislation to pass and become law on October 1, 2025. Key provisions of this legislation would include: one hour of paid sick leave per every 30 hours worked, with specific rules for both large and small employers and the accrual and carry over of sick time. For employers that provide paid leave sufficient to meet the requirements of the Act that may be used for the same conditions as paid sick time, they will not be required to provide additional paid sick time.
• Bottom line: This legislation has not passed, but is a petitioned issue that will be on the ballot in November and is expected to be voted in as law. Employers will need to review and/or update their sick leave policies.

In August, the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) awarded nine Nebraska communities grants for projects that will demolish dilapidated commercial properties. The City of Wymore received $80,000 for the property at 207 S. 7th Street. Funding for this project comes from the Revitalize Rural Nebraska grant program, a competitive program requiring properties be owned by the applying municipality, abandoned or vacant for at least six months, and not on or eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Recipient communities must also provide a local match.

Congratulations to the City of Wymore for its forward-thinking and commitment to creating opportunities for redevelopment!

SCC WELDING

The newest building on SCC Beatrice campus is complete and classes have begun at the SCC Welding building! "Dean of Agriculture, Welding, and Transportation Jon Kisby said there was a recognition of Beatrice being a manufacturing community, and the new building will be a welcome addition." Read more...

NSWERS TALENT BRIEF

The Nebraska Statewide Workforce & Educational Reporting System (NSWERS) recently released their Talent Retention Brief, detailing "insights that can be used to develop date-informed policies aimed at expanding Nebraska's workforce, thereby positioning the state for sustained economic growth."

YPG SEPTEMBER EVENT

YPG recently held their Golf With a Pro event at Beatrice Country Club, where they were given "pro tips" on golfing and enjoyed an evening of networking together.

Interested in joining YPG or have Young Professionals in your business that are looking to get involved? Contact us today!

The Gage County Communities for Kids (C4K) initiative was spearheaded by NGage in 2021 in response to community requests for assistance with shortages of high-quality early care and education programs — shortages that both impact children’s optimal development and pose a challenge for communities hoping to attract and retain the viable workforce they need to thrive.

The C4K initiative has grown in its mission and urgency in that time, so NGage recently formed a brand new non-profit to support further efforts, the Gage County Childcare Collaborative! As a soft launch, the organization participated in Big Give Gage, a 24-giving hour event aimed at matching community members' passions and generosity with non-profits already doing great work in Gage County. We are very thankful for the donors that gave to GCCC to the tune of about $1,300!

Look for more information on this exciting new endeavor very soon!

Dirt work is currently underway along east Scott Street in Beatrice, near the new U-Stop gas station. This site will become a market-rate apartment complex with a total of 48 units.

Plans are in place to rework three former elementary school buildings in Beatrice into housing developments and/or senior living apartments. From left to right above are the Lincoln Elementary, Paddock Lane Elementary, and Stoddard Elementary school sites. The former two buildings are in areas conducive for residential homes, while the latter is being explored as a senior living facility by a group that specializes in these types of projects. The estimated lots/units for these three projects totals 72.