48-145.01. Employers; compensation required; penalty for failure to comply; injunction; Attorney General; duties.

(1) Any employer required to secure the payment of compensation under the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act who willfully fails to secure the payment of such compensation shall be guilty of a Class I misdemeanor. If the employer is a corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership, any officer, member, manager, partner, or employee who had authority to secure payment of compensation on behalf of the employer and willfully failed to do so shall be individually guilty of a Class I misdemeanor and shall be personally liable jointly and severally with such employer for any compensation which may accrue under the act in respect to any injury which may occur to any employee of such employer while it so fails to secure the payment of compensation as required by section 48-145.

(2) If an employer subject to the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act fails to secure the payment of compensation as required by section 48-145, the employer may be enjoined from doing business in this state until the employer complies with subdivision (1) of section 48-145. If a temporary injunction is granted at the request of the State of Nebraska, no bond shall be required to make the injunction effective. The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court or the district court may order an employer who willfully fails to secure the payment of compensation to pay a monetary penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for each violation. For purposes of this subsection, each day of continued failure to secure the payment of compensation as required by section 48-145 constitutes a separate violation. If the employer is a corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership, any officer, member, manager, partner, or employee who had authority to secure payment of compensation on behalf of the employer and willfully failed to do so shall be personally liable jointly and severally with the employer for such monetary penalty. All penalties collected pursuant to this subsection shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for distribution in accordance with Article VII, section 5, of the Constitution of Nebraska.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Attorney General to act as attorney for the State of Nebraska for purposes of this section. The Attorney General may file a motion pursuant to section 48-162.03 for an order directing an employer to appear before a judge of the compensation court and show cause as to why a monetary penalty should not be assessed against the employer pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. The Attorney General shall be considered a party for purposes of such motion. The Attorney General may appear before the compensation court and present evidence of a violation or violations pursuant to subsection (2) of this section and the identity of the person who had authority to secure the payment of compensation. Appeal from an order of a judge of the compensation court pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall be in accordance with sections 48-182 and 48-185.

Source

Annotations

The word "willfully" herein is that failure by act or omission to act done knowingly and intentionally. Schademann v. Casey, 194 Neb. 149, 231 N.W.2d 116 (1975).