2022 Nevada Revised Statutes
Chapter 613 - Employment Practices
NRS 613.802 - Legislative findings. [Effective through the later of the date on which the Governor terminates the emergency described in the Declaration of Emergency for COVID-19 issued on March 12, 2020, or August 31, 2022.]
The Legislature hereby finds that:
1. COVID-19, also known as the "Coronavirus Disease," is a respiratory disease which has spread across the globe, with many thousands of cases in Nevada.
2. On January 31, 2020, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a public health emergency based on the threat caused by the novel coronavirus, and, thereafter, the President of the United States issued the Proclamation Declaring a National Emergency Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak, beginning March 1, 2020.
3. The World Health Organization announced on March 11, 2020, that it had characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic.
4. On March 12, 2020, the Governor of Nevada issued the Declaration of Emergency for COVID-19, declaring the existence of an emergency in the State.
5. On March 13, 2020, the President declared a nationwide emergency pursuant to section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121 et seq.
6. Since the Governor’s Declaration of Emergency for COVID-19 on March 12, 2020, the Governor has issued numerous COVID-19 declaration of emergency directives, setting forth closures, safety precautions and capacity limitations for public accommodations, other businesses and governmental facilities and removing such restrictions as appropriate.
7. Jobs in the leisure and hospitality sectors are central to this State’s economy and to the well-being of this State as a whole. According to the Budget Division of the Office of Finance, leisure and hospitality jobs constituted a significant portion of total employment in this State during 2019.
8. Since the declaration of a national public health emergency on January 31, 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused casino, hospitality, stadium and travel-related employers to discharge, lay off and furlough workers on a massive scale. As of December 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, Nevada experienced a significant annual decrease in leisure and hospitality employment, the largest decline of any sector in Nevada.
9. Many thousands of casino, hospitality, stadium and travel-related workers have been separated from their jobs already during the pandemic.
10. It is in the public interest and beneficial to the public welfare to ensure that the State’s casino, hospitality, stadium and travel-related employers honor their former employees’ right to return to their former positions because doing so will speed the transition back to a functioning labor market and will lessen the damage to the State’s economy. Recalling workers instead of searching for new employees could minimize the time necessary to match employees with jobs and reduce the unemployment rate more quickly.
11. It is in the public interest and beneficial to the public welfare to provide laid-off employees in the casino, hospitality, stadium and travel-related sectors with the economic security of knowing that they will have an opportunity to return to their jobs when business returns. In a typical recession, workers who are permanently laid off, without recall, often cycle through short-term jobs before finding a stable job, and many drop out of the labor market altogether. In addition, workers who believe that they are likely to be called back to a steady job are more likely to continue spending money. Ensuring a path to rehiring can relieve workers’ anxiety, which can bolster morale and increase consumer spending, thereby supporting economic recovery.
(Added to NRS by 2021, 3585)
