Gig Workers Are Independent Contractors, Nebraska Says

Follow us on LinkedIn to see future News.

Patricia Tsipras

August 19, 2025

Nebraska amended its Employment Security Law – effective September 9, 2025 – to classify individuals working for marketplace network platforms as independent contractors for unemployment purposes, provided that certain conditions are met.

In Nebraska, a “marketplace network platform” is “a person that maintains a digital network to facilitate services by marketplace network contractors to individuals or entities seeking those services and accepts requests from the public only through the platform’s digital network or mobile application, and not by telephone, facsimile, or in-person at a retail location.”  Examples include Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash.

The conditions for the independent contractor classification include the following:

1. A written agreement exists between the individual and the marketplace network platform stating that the individual is an independent contractor, not an employee of the platform.
2. The marketplace network platform does not unilaterally dictate specific hours when the individual must be available to handle requests for service.
3. The marketplace network platform does not prevent the individual from working at other jobs or for other platforms, except when the individual actively is providing services through the platform’s network.
4. The marketplace network platform does not terminate a contract with an individual simply because the individual refuses to handle a specific service request.

If the above conditions are met, the individuals will be considered independent contractors for purposes of unemployment obligations.  Specifically, for these individuals, employers will not be required to pay unemployment insurance taxes and the individuals will not be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Nebraska Employers:  Misclassifying workers as independent contractors when they actually are employees can be costly.  Thus, before availing yourself of this law, consult with counsel to determine whether you are, in fact, a marketplace network platform.  Similar laws exists in other states,[1] but the laws are not all alike.  For instance, some other state’s laws impact employee versus independent contractor classification for purposes of all employment laws, while Nebraska’s law impacts only unemployment compensation laws.

The author of this article, Patricia Tsipras, is a member of the Bar of Pennsylvania. This article is designed to provide one perspective regarding recent legal developments, and is not intended to serve as legal advice in Pennsylvania, Nebraska, or any other jurisdiction, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship with any reader of the article where one does not exist. Always consult an attorney with specific legal issues.

[1]              Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee, and Utah have similar laws.