The Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered supplemental briefing in our remote work/mandatory subject of bargaining case. The court has ordered our union and the State of Nebraska to submit additional written briefs addressing whether Nebraska law requires the Governor to enter “impact and implementation bargaining” over remote work.
Impact and implementation bargaining occurs when an employer is not required to bargain over the substance of a topic, but must negotiate over the procedures and appropriate arrangements that stem from a change in terms of employment related to that topic during the term of a contract. The supplemental briefs will be submitted to the Supreme Court on February 17, 2026.
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in this case in December 2025, where attorneys for both NAPE/AFSCME and the State of Nebraska highlighted arguments from their written briefs. NAPE/AFSCME attorneys argued that remote work is not covered by our labor contract, and, therefore, the state must negotiate with our union. Attorneys for the State of Nebraska argued that the state has a management right to assign the site of the workforce, including remote work assignments.
Attorneys also argued whether or not our union waived our right to negotiate over remote work and whether our union must pay the State of Nebraska over $40,000 in legal fees as ordered by the Commission of Industrial Relations. We expect a final decision from the court this spring.