(1) Number of new employees, for purposes of subdivisions (1)(b), (4)(d), (5)(c), and (8)(b)(iii) of section 77-6831, means the lesser of:

(a) The number of equivalent employees that are employed at the qualified location or locations during a year that are in excess of the number of equivalent employees during the base year; or

(b) The sum of:

(i) The number of equivalent employees employed full-time at the qualified location or locations during a year who are not base-year employees, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least one hundred fifty percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application; and

(ii) The number of equivalent employees who were not employed full-time at the qualified location during the base year and became employed full-time at the qualified location after the base year, after subtracting the hours worked by such employees in the base year, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least one hundred fifty percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application.

(2) Number of new employees, for purposes of subdivisions (4)(a)(i) and (5)(a)(i) of section 77-6831, means the lesser of:

(a) The number of equivalent employees that are employed at the qualified location or locations during a year that are in excess of the number of equivalent employees during the base year; or

(b) The sum of:

(i) The number of equivalent employees employed full-time at the qualified location or locations during a year who are not base-year employees, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least ninety percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application; and

(ii) The number of equivalent employees who were not employed full-time at the qualified location during the base year and became employed full-time at the qualified location after the base year, after subtracting the hours worked by such employees in the base year, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least ninety percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application.

(3) Number of new employees, for purposes of subdivisions (4)(a)(ii) and (5)(a)(ii) of section 77-6831, means the lesser of:

(a) The number of equivalent employees that are employed at the qualified location or locations during a year that are in excess of the number of equivalent employees during the base year; or

(b) The sum of:

(i) The number of equivalent employees employed full-time at the qualified location or locations during a year who are not base-year employees, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least seventy-five percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application; and

(ii) The number of equivalent employees who were not employed full-time at the qualified location during the base year and became employed full-time at the qualified location after the base year, after subtracting the hours worked by such employees in the base year, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least seventy-five percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application.

(4) Number of new employees, for purposes of subdivisions (4)(a)(iii), (4)(e), (5)(a)(iii), and (5)(d) of section 77-6831, means the lesser of:

(a) The number of equivalent employees that are employed at the qualified location or locations during a year that are in excess of the number of equivalent employees during the base year; or

(b) The sum of:

(i) The number of equivalent employees employed full-time at the qualified location or locations during a year who are not base-year employees, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least seventy percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application; and

(ii) The number of equivalent employees who were not employed full-time at the qualified location during the base year and became employed full-time at the qualified location after the base year, after subtracting the hours worked by such employees in the base year, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least seventy percent of the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application.

(5) Number of new employees, for all other purposes, except as otherwise provided in the ImagiNE Nebraska Act, means the lesser of:

(a) The number of equivalent employees that are employed at the qualified location or locations during a year that are in excess of the number of equivalent employees during the base year; or

(b) The sum of:

(i) The number of equivalent employees employed full-time at the qualified location or locations during a year who are not base-year employees, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application; and

(ii) The number of equivalent employees who were not employed full-time at the qualified location during the base year and became employed full-time at the qualified location after the base year, after subtracting the hours worked by such employees in the base year, who meet the health coverage requirement of subsection (7) of this section, and who are paid compensation at a rate equal to at least the Nebraska statewide average hourly wage for the year of application.

(6) For employees who work both at a qualified location and also perform services for the taxpayer at other nonqualified locations, they will be included in determining the number of new employees if more than fifty percent of the time for which they are compensated is spent at the qualified location. For any year other than the base year, employees who work at the qualified location fifty percent or less of the time for which they are compensated are not considered employed at the qualified location. For employees who work both at a qualified location and also perform services for the taxpayer at the employee's Nebraska residence, the time for which an employee is compensated for services performed at the employee's Nebraska residence will be considered spent at the qualified location.

(7) An employee meets the health coverage requirement if the taxpayer offers to that employee, for that year, the opportunity to enroll in minimum essential coverage under an eligible employer-sponsored plan, as those terms are defined and described in section 5000A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations for such section.

(8) For purposes of this section, employed full-time means that the employee is a full-time employee as defined and described in section 4980H of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations for such section.