Nevada employers must compensate employees who get COVID-19 shots

The Nevada Legislature recently passed Senate Bill (SB) 209 requiring employers to give employees paid time off (PTO) to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Here’s how the new law works and what you will need to know.

Key facts about new Nevada law

Who’s covered. SB 209 applies to all private employers with 50 or more employees in Nevada. It doesn’t apply to government or public entities, nor does it cover employers that provide a clinic on their premises where employees can receive the COVID-19 vaccine during regular business hours.

What’s required. SB 209 requires employers to provide employees with between two and four hours of PTO so they can get their COVID-19 vaccinations. If the vaccine is administered in one dose, the employer is required to provide only two hours of paid leave. If the vaccine requires two doses, the employee is eligible for four hours of paid leave (two hours for each dose).

SB 209 isn’t retroactive, which means employers aren’t required to compensate employees who have already been vaccinated. It also isn’t intended to create additional accrued wages. In other words, an employer isn’t required to compensate an unvaccinated employee who leaves work for any unused hours of vaccine leave.

Finally, as currently enacted, SB 209 doesn’t provide additional paid leave for a third dose of any vaccine or a booster.

Effective date. SB 209 became effective on June 9, 2021. Unless renewed by the legislature, it will expire on December 31, 2023.

Penalties for employers