PEO in Nebraska [2024]

A professional employer organization (PEO) offers extensive solutions to help small and medium-sized businesses with HR management, payroll, benefits, compliance, and more. 

If you run a business in Nebraska, you may have considered joining a PEO to help streamline your HR functions, save your business money, or provide your employees with access to better quality benefits at lower prices. Whether you operate in Lincoln, Omaha, or one of Nebraska’s many small towns like Table Rock or Beatrice, there are many PEOs to choose from, and likely one that can meet your needs.

Considering that some of the top sectors by employment in Nebraska are manufacturing and agriculture (it is the Cornhusker state), many Nebraska companies could benefit from a platform like Rippling PEO that makes it more affordable to provide workers’ compensation insurance and easier to process claims in labor-intensive industries.

Benefits of using a PEO in Nebraska

By partnering with the right PEO, businesses can reduce time spent on manual administrative HR tasks, access superior employee benefits, ensure worry-free compliance with tax and labor laws, and enjoy the support of a dedicated team of HR pros.

Offload administrative HR work

A PEO works by co-employing your team, which makes it the administrative employer (or “statutory employer” if you ask the IRS) and you the worksite employer. 

With a co-employment model, PEOs employ your team under their employer identification number (EIN) and do what they do best—manage the more mundane, repetitive human resources tasks around employment, which typically encompass benefits, payroll, compliance, and more. 

This enables your HR team to focus on deep, strategic work that improves the employee lifecycle and builds better retention. In fact, it's thought that small businesses that work with a PEO can reduce turnover by as much as 14%.

Better employee benefits, at a lower price

Speaking of retaining employees—it’s critical to fill your ranks with awesome employees before you devote time and money to keep them around. PEOs are also really helpful here. 

Since PEOs have so many “workers” through their co-employment status with many different businesses, they have sway when it comes to negotiating how much they’re willing to pay for benefits. That means they get access to robust yet affordable healthcare, retirement plans, life and disability insurance, commuter benefits, and more. Access to these savings gets passed down to your employees when you partner with a PEO. 

With the right PEO, businesses of all sizes can offer access to stellar benefits at competitive prices to attract top-notch talent to their teams. 

Worry-free compliance with Nebraska laws

What you don't want to do as an employer is fall out of compliance with employment and labor laws in Nebraska. Failing to comply with local, state, and federal laws can result in fines in many cases and legal action in some.

A PEO can help you stay out of hot water in two ways: 

1. Connecting you with experts in local compliance who can make sure you’re informed of the latest regulations and that all your practices are aligned with them.
2. Automatically submitting paperwork, filing claims, and paying fees and taxes related to payroll, workers’ comp, unemployment insurance, and so on—so you never miss an important due date. 

More specifically, a PEO can help you maintain compliance in Nebraska when it comes to:

• Payroll regulations: In addition to federal payroll taxes, Nebraska businesses must withhold and pay state income tax quarterly, which isn’t simple thanks to their progressive tax system in which taxes increase as pay increases. New hires and rehires must be reported and independent contractors have to be correctly classified to ensure accurate tax payments. A PEO like Rippling with a smart worker classification analyzer can help you navigate the complexities of payroll regulations and taxation in Nebraska. 
• Benefits laws: Employers in Nebraska pay federal (FUTA) and state (SUTA) unemployment insurance taxes, provide health insurance in line with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), soften the blow of layoffs under Worker Adjustment And Retraining Notification (WARN), protect employment through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and state-wide military and voting leave allowances, and often offer paid sick and bereavement leave, even though it’s not required by law. And that’s not even all of the federal and state-wide benefits Nebraskan employers offer—which is all the more reason to get help managing them with PEO software. 
• Labor laws: Nebraska’s businesses adhere to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which pays overtime when the 40-hour work week is exceeded. And the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act requires employers with one or more employees (with exceptions) to provide benefits to people who suffer work-related injuries or illnesses. With a pretty high bar for workers’ compensation coverage among businesses that require an element of manual labor, Nebraska employers would be wise to shop around for a PEO that enables them to administer robust workers’ comp plans and reduce liabilities.

Those fines that result from non-compliance that we mentioned earlier? Businesses that file the Nebraska Income Tax Withholding Return form late are subject to a 5% to ​​25% penalty on the amount due. Late payments get hit with a 5% penalty on the unpaid amount. Late unemployment insurance tax payments are charged an additional 1.5% per month until they're all paid up. Even these few examples show the costly spiral businesses can fall into when they don’t have the help they need to keep up with changing regulations and dozens of different due dates. 

Dedicated support team

The collective power that helps PEOs negotiate great deals on benefits also makes them unequivocal experts in HR. As the saying goes, many heads are better than one. 

Working with a PEO drops you right into a mastermind group full of experienced HR professionals whom you may not be able to access any other way. This new extension of your team is ready to offer advice, assistance, and savings on everything from benefits administration to evaluating protocols, developing handbooks, training managers, and more.

What to consider when evaluating a PEO service in Nebraska

Ready to shop for a PEO to help you manage HR and grow your business in Nebraska? Let’s cover all the factors you should be thinking about:

• Your business needs: What kind of features and experience would you like from a PEO? In Nebraska, you may be looking especially for easy workers’ comp filing and management. That said, there’s a lot a PEO can help you with, including HR-related administrative services, like:
• HR outsourcing
• Payroll processing
• Tax filing and compliance
• Time and attendance tracking
• Benefits administration
• Safety compliance and risk management
• Recruiting and onboarding
• Regulatory compliance

• Your budget: Of course, you have to think about pricing. PEOs usually charge either a per-employee, per-month fee or a percentage of your payroll. So either way, as your business grows, so will the cost. This should be front of mind as you shop for a PEO. That said, don’t forget that businesses save on average $1,775 per employee every year they use a PEO. Don’t overlook this big benefit when considering cost. 
• Experience and reputation: Many of us won’t even make a reservation for dinner without reading a restaurant’s reviews—so don’t forget to check out reviews for any PEO provider in which you’re interested before making a commitment. Capterra, GetApp, G2, TrustRadius, and similar software review sites can give you a well-rounded idea of what it will be like to work with a PEO and the team behind it. 
• Benefits: Consider the range, flexibility, and pricing of the benefits you’d like to access. You know your workforce best, so be sure to prioritize benefit plans that will keep your workers happy while simultaneously helping grow your team.
• Renewal rates: Follow up question—what does it look like to renew that benefit plan next year? How about in five years? Are there any sneaky new fees that kick in once they’ve got you fully onboarded and know it’ll be costly for you to leave? Transparency is always valuable in a business partner, so make sure you have it up front by getting full clarity on annual PEO renewal rates.
• Integrations: What does your tech stack look like today? Better yet, what are you planning for a few years down the road? You only want to incorporate new technology that can function alongside the systems and platforms where you already get work done.
• Does the PEO specialize in specific industries? Whether your business specializes in manufacturing, processing, agriculture, gas, or some other niche, look for a PEO that’s a good fit for your industry. 
• Does the PEO specialize in specific legal or compliance issues? Similarly, if the work you do has special laws or regulations that your business must comply with, seek a PEO that’s experienced in that space to avoid fines, lawsuits, and a damaged reputation. 
• Your exit strategy: As you grow you may decide to bring HR fully inside your company. Or, you may just need to switch to another PEO provider. How hard does the PEO you’re considering make that process? Some make it incredibly complex in an effort to keep you in the fold longer than you want to be. Others make it a breeze. Even if a split seems unlikely or far off, it’s important to at least consider the possibility now before you get in deep.

Why Rippling PEO is the right choice for your Nebraska business

Rippling PEO is distinguished in that it’s the first PEO operating on modern software. You may be shocked to hear that most PEOs run on software that was built back in the 80’s—seriously.

Our contemporary platform is the first to bring together HR, IT, and Finance all into one solution, complete with everything from swift 90-second employee onboarding to efficient remote IT management. That means Rippling PEO is uniquely powerful at handling essential compliance tasks, such as setting up tax accounts and workers' compensation, as well as providing your team with access to high-quality benefits at a reduced cost.

Partner with Rippling and enjoy:

• A pleasant-to-use, unified platform for all your HR, IT, and Finance needs
• Automatic federal, state, and local compliance issue detection and resolution recommendations
• Access to premium benefits plans, which include stable and below-average renewal rates 
• Advanced, customizable analytics and reporting capabilities
• Management tools for remote teams, including tax registration, paperless onboarding, and management of applications and devices
• Automated compliance and risk management flows, such as ACA and COBRA administration, anti-harassment training, and distribution of labor law posters
• A wealth of HR resources, guides, and templates
• A a smooth and straightforward process should you choose to transition off of Rippling PEO to our workforce management platform

FAQs about PEOs in Nebraska

What is a PEO and how does it work?

A professional employer organization collaborates with businesses through co-employment to offer HR solutions ranging from payroll to benefits administration, HR task management, and compliance support. In this arrangement, the PEO becomes the legal employer of a company's staff for tax purposes.

How does a PEO arrangement affect control over my employees?

While a PEO manages HR and employment-related tasks, businesses maintain control over day-to-day operations (marketing, hiring, production, etc.) and employee management. 

What is a certified PEO?

A certified PEO (CPEO) is a PEO that meets IRS requirements regarding its background, expertise, finances, and reporting. This voluntary certification indicates that a PEO has undergone rigorous evaluations, but it doesn’t indicate endorsement by the IRS in any way. 

Today, the benefits of using a CPEO are largely obsolete.

What size company can benefit from a PEO?

PEOs are useful for any business size. However, small and medium-sized companies often have the most to gain from outsourcing some HR tasks to PEOs. This enables them to focus on more strategic HR activities that they wouldn’t have time for and purchase superior benefits plans that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. 

How does a PEO charge for its services?

PEOs typically charge either a per-employee flat fee or a percentage of total payroll. Your end cost will depend on the size of your organization and the features of your chosen PEO.

What is the PEO implementation process and how long does it take?

Generally, when you partner with a PEO, it begins by gathering essential information about your workforce, including payroll details, employment history, and benefits info. 

Then, it establishes its systems to manage your HR, payroll, and benefits—this will include technology integration as needed. It may also organize sessions to onboard your employees, clarify new benefits, and train your team on its systems. 

The duration of this process varies, ranging from weeks long to months long. Usually, the time frame is contingent on your business's size and the intricacy of the PEO with which you’re partnering. 

Are PEOs regulated?

PEOs are regulated at both federal and state levels, with many opting for accreditation by different industries for enhanced credibility.

Are PEOs in Nebraska required to have special certifications or licenses?

Nebraska PEOs have no specific licensing requirements, but like any corporation in the state they must apply to conduct business via an Application for Certificate of Authority to Transact Business.

What happens if I want to terminate my relationship with a PEO?

Unfortunately, with many PEOs, terminating the partnership is challenging and disruptive to business, since you’ll have to find alternative solutions for payroll, benefits administration, and everything else the PEO once managed.

This is why we prioritized making Rippling PEO easy to exit. Once you’re ready, you can turn the PEO off and seamlessly move to our all-in-one workforce management platform. All your carefully built integrations, processes, and data flows will remain untouched. 

In what states is Rippling PEO available?

Rippling PEO operates in every state across the US.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.