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Nevada Expands Employee Leave Entitlements

The Nevada law pertaining to parental leave for school-related activities has been amended to broaden the protections afforded parents, guardians and custodians of school-age children who attend certain school-related activities.  Effective August 15, 2009, under amended Nevada Revised Statute 392.920, employers with at least 50 employees must give each employee who is a parent, guardian or custodian of a child in a public or private school up to four hours of leave each school year for each child.

Employees must use the leave, in increments of at least one hour, to attend or participate in school-related activities, such as parent-teacher conferences or volunteering at the child’s school during regular school hours. 

Employers may require employees to submit a written request for leave at least five school days before the leave is taken.  Leave must be taken at mutually agreeable times, unless an emergency situation requires otherwise. 

The law makes it unlawful for a covered employer to take retaliatory action, including terminating, demoting, suspending or otherwise discriminating, against an employee who, as the parent, guardian or custodian of a child, takes leave for a covered activity.  It already is unlawful for an employer of any size, to terminate, demote, suspend or otherwise discriminate against an employee who, as the parent, guardian or custodian of a child, takes or appears at a conference requested by a school administrator or is notified during work of an emergency regarding his or her child.

A violation of the retaliation provisions of amended NRS 329.920 is a misdemeanor. An employee may file a claim of discrimination for a violation with the Nevada Labor Commissioner. (The law requires the employer to provide the complainant with all the forms necessary to make a complaint to the Commissioner.) If the Commissioner determines the claim is valid, the Commissioner must provide notice and a hearing to the employer. The Commissioner may award the complainant lost wages and benefits, liquidated damages in an amount equal to lost wages and benefits, and reinstatement.

The law would not apply if the employee is afforded the same leave under the same conditions pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement. 

While employees need not be paid for taking leave, as a practical matter, employers may not be able to require unpaid leave for employees classified as exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The FLSA prohibits deductions from the salary of exempt employees if they are absent for personal reasons, unless the absence is for a day or more.