(1) Paid sick time shall be provided to an employee by an employer for:

(a) An employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; an employee's need for medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; or an employee's need for preventive medical care;

(b) Care of a family member with a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of a mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition; care of a family member who needs preventive medical care; or in the case of a child, to attend a meeting necessitated by the child's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition, at a school or place where the child is receiving care; or

(c) Closure of the employee's place of business by order of a public official due to a public health emergency; an employee's need to care for a child whose school or place of care has been closed by order of a public official due to a public health emergency; or an employee's need to self-isolate or care for the employee or a family member when it has been determined by the health authorities having jurisdiction or by a health care professional that the employee's or family member's presence in the community may jeopardize the health of others because of exposure to a communicable disease, whether or not the employee or family member has actually contracted the communicable disease.

(2) Paid sick time under this section shall be provided upon the oral request of an employee. When possible, the request shall include the expected duration of the absence.

(3) An employer that requires notice of the need to use paid sick time in accordance with this section shall provide a written policy that contains reasonable procedures for employees to provide notice. An employer that has not provided to the employee a copy of such written policy shall not deny paid sick time to the employee based on noncompliance with such a policy.

(4) An employer shall not require, as a condition of an employee's taking paid sick time under this section, that the employee search for or find a replacement worker to cover the hours during which the employee is using paid sick time.

(5) Paid sick time under this section may be used in the smaller of hourly increments or the smallest increment that the employer's payroll system uses to account for absences or use of other time.

(6) For use of paid sick time for more than three consecutive work days, an employer may require reasonable documentation that the paid sick time has been used for a purpose covered by subsection (1) of this section. Reasonable documentation shall include (a) documentation signed by a health care professional indicating that paid sick time is or was necessary or (b) if the employee or a family member did not receive services from a health care professional, or if documentation cannot be obtained from a health care professional in reasonable time or without added expense, a written statement from the employee indicating that the employee is taking or took paid sick time for a qualifying purpose covered by subsection (1) of this section.

(7) An employer signatory to a multi-employer collective-bargaining agreement may fulfill its obligations under the Nebraska Healthy Families and Workplaces Act by making contributions to a multi-employer paid sick time fund, plan, or program based on the hours each employee accrues pursuant to the act while working under the multi-employer collective-bargaining agreement, if the fund, plan, or program enables employees to collect paid sick time from the fund, plan, or program based on hours they have worked under the multi-employer collective-bargaining agreement and for the purposes specified under the act. Employees who work under a multi-employer collective-bargaining agreement into which their employers make contributions as provided in this subsection may collect from the paid sick time fund, plan, or program based on hours they have worked under the multi-employer collective-bargaining agreement and for the purposes specified under the act.