Labor & Employment (Public Employees)

SB 246 requires certain health insurance plans to allow women to access covered gynecological or obstetrical services without first getting a referral from their primary care physician. It applies to health plans covering small employer employees, fraternal benefit societies, managed care organizations, public employee benefits, and Medicaid. The law, effective January 1, 2026, mandates this change by adding a provision to insurance contracts, making any conflicting terms void. It does not permit designating an OB/GYN as a primary care physician. This is a policy change to streamline access to specific reproductive health services under existing coverage.

AB 191 authorizes collective bargaining for professional employees of state professional employers (such as the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada with 400+ professional staff) who are in unclassified service or paid outside standard classified pay plans. It establishes new procedures for recognizing professional organizations as exclusive bargaining representatives, requires state employers to negotiate within 60 days of notice, and allows salary deductions for union dues. The bill also grants professional employees the right to representation during disciplinary actions and mandates annual reporting to the Government Employee-Management Relations Board. This directly affects state professional employers and their employees, creating a structured framework for collective bargaining previously limited to other state employee groups.

AB 547 updates Nevada's public employment rules to make state hiring more flexible. It allows state agencies to count relevant federal government work experience as equivalent to state experience for job qualifications and pay decisions. The bill also restricts requiring a bachelor's degree for most state jobs, except when an agency proves the position genuinely needs that specific education. These changes directly affect state job applicants and employees in both classified (competitive) and unclassified (non-competitive) positions.

AB 172 requires school districts to provide unions representing public employees with the contact details (name, address, email, phone, work location) of all employees in their bargaining units twice yearly (January 1 and July 1), unless an employee opts out in writing. If an employee opts out, the school district must not share their information with the union but must still provide it to the Government Employee-Management Relations Board upon request. The bill also adds parking and transportation issues to mandatory topics for collective bargaining between state government and classified employees. All shared employee information is kept confidential and excluded from public records.

SB 319-82 amends Nevada law to expand the definition of "employee" for collective bargaining purposes to include category I, II, and III peace officers working in the unclassified service of the state. This directly affects those peace officers, who previously could not participate in collective bargaining under the existing definition. The bill revises NRS 288.425 to add a new subsection (b) specifying that such peace officers qualify as "employees" under the law. The change allows these officers to join unions and negotiate terms like pay and working conditions, aligning their status with other state employees covered by collective bargaining. The law does not alter pay structures but extends bargaining rights to this specific group of public safety workers.