State Senators Call Urge Ricketts To Strengthen Worker Protections

LINCOLN- A bipartisan group of State Senators called on Governor Pete Ricketts to strengthen protections for state and public workers.

The Senators cited concerns from constituents working on the front lines of the response to COVID-19. The letter called on Ricketts to immediately include grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, and food production workers in the state’s definition of front-line emergency service providers. Allow every state employee possible to work from home. Allow services provided to the public, such as DMV, DHHS, and Labor services to be provided over the phone or delayed until the crisis passes and closing local offices for face-to-face interaction wherever possible to protect state employees.

Issue a proclamation or guidance to businesses to promote proper social distancing, work from home policies, adopting additional health and screening practices, expanding personnel and leave practices that encourage self-quarantine to contain spread.