Nebraska Supreme Court considers state bargaining, remote work dispute

Labor dispute with state employee union started with negotiations about 3 years ago



Justin Hubly, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, leads a rally in the Nebraska State Capitol against state spending cuts to state workers and in response to the union’s Nebraska Supreme Court appeal over its labor contract. Dec. 2, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

By: Zach Wendling - December 2, 2025 4:32 pm

LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court considered arguments Tuesday in a multi-year fight over whether state officials needed to bargain with a state employees union over an executive order seeking to limit remote work.

Multiple justices questioned what constituted “bargaining” in relation to the November 2023 executive order from Gov. Jim Pillen, which ordered most state employees to return to work in person, beginning Jan. 2, 2024.

A three-member panel of the Nebraska Commission of Industrial Relations, a state labor court, unanimously upheld the order in July 2024. The commission decided state officials didn’t violate the rights of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees when it refused to negotiate.

The court said the labor contract already “covered” remote work and that the union’s lawsuit was “frivolous” and done in “bad faith.” As a punishment, the commission ordered the union to pay $42,234.63 for state attorneys’ fees.

FULL story: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/12/02/nebraska-supreme-court-considers-state-bargaining-remote-work-dispute/

I have a family member in this union, waiting on the results.