48-126.01. Wages or compensation rate; basis of computation.

(1)(a) In determining the compensation to be paid any member of the military forces of this state, any member of a law enforcement reserve force, or any member of the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, any city, village, county, or interjurisdictional emergency management organization, or any state emergency response team, which military forces, law enforcement reserve force, or emergency management agency, organization, or team is organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, or any person fulfilling conditions of probation, or community service as defined in section 29-2277, pursuant to any order of any court of this state who shall be working for a governmental body, or agency as defined in section 29-2277, pursuant to any condition of probation, or community service as defined in section 29-2277, for injuries resulting in disability or death received in the performance of his or her duties as a member of such military forces, reserve force, agency, organization, or team, or pursuant to an order of any court, the wages of such a member or person shall be taken to be those received by him or her from his or her regular employer, and he or she shall receive such proportion thereof as he or she is entitled to under the provisions of section 48-121.

(b) If a member or person under subdivision (1)(a) of this section is not regularly employed by some other person, for the purpose of such determination, it shall be deemed and assumed that he or she is receiving income from his or her business or from other employment equivalent to wages in an amount one and one-half times the maximum weekly income benefit specified in section 48-121.01.

(c) If the wages received for the performance of duties as a member of such military forces, reserve force, agency, organization, or team exceed the wages received from a regular employer, such member shall be entitled to a rate of compensation based upon wages received as a member of such military forces, reserve force, agency, organization, or team.

(2) In determining the compensation rate to be paid any member of a volunteer fire department in any rural or suburban fire protection district, city, village, or nonprofit corporation or any member of a volunteer emergency medical service, which fire department or emergency medical service is organized under the laws of the State of Nebraska, for injuries resulting in disability or death received in the performance of his or her duties as a member of such fire department or emergency medical service, it shall be deemed and assumed that his or her wages are in an amount one and one-half times the maximum weekly income benefit specified in section 48-121.01 or the wages received by such member from his or her regular employment, whichever is greater. Any member of such volunteer fire department or volunteer emergency medical service shall not lose his or her volunteer status under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act if such volunteer receives reimbursement for expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee, a nominal per call fee, a nominal per shift fee, or combination thereof. It shall be conclusively presumed that a fee is nominal if the fee does not exceed twenty percent of the amount that otherwise would be required to hire a permanent employee for the same services.

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