Nebraska AG Sues Lincoln Over Local Minimum Wage, Omaha May Be Next
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers sued the city of Lincoln on June 18, 2026, two days after the Omaha City Council held a hearing on a similar proposal. Both cities had passed or were considering local minimum wage ordinances that follow language approved by Nebraska voters in a 2022 ballot initiative.
The Republican-majority Nebraska Legislature moved this year to weaken the wage increases that 2022 initiative had authorized. Lincoln and Omaha, both led by Democratic mayors and Democratic-majority city councils, responded by passing or considering local ordinances to hold to the original voter-approved standard.
“My biggest problem I have with this is I just don’t know if Omaha has the authority to do this.”
Aimee Melton, Republican Omaha City Council member, June 16, 2026
Hilgers framed the lawsuit as a constitutional matter, not a wage dispute. At his press conference announcing the Lincoln suit, he said that when people don’t get the outcome they want through normal channels, they try to achieve it “by other means”, and that those attempts are often unconstitutional. Hilgers told the Nebraska Examiner this is likely the first preemption fight he has seen since taking office in 2023.
Republicans Are Already Writing the Next Preemption Law
State Republican lawmaker Beau Ballard of Lincoln told the Lincoln Journal Star he plans to propose legislation that would ban cities and counties from enacting any minimum wage rule that conflicts with state law. That bill does not yet exist, but the announcement signals that even if Lincoln wins in court, the legislature may close the legal door behind it.
Nebraska is not alone. Iowa and South Dakota have already passed laws banning cities from setting minimum wages above the state rate. Texas passed a sweeping 2023 law aimed at overturning local progressive ordinances across the board. Mississippi restructured Jackson’s courts and expanded state law enforcement inside the city limits the same year.
The pattern is consistent. Republican-controlled state governments use preemption laws to override Democratic-majority city councils, even when those cities are acting on voter-approved mandates. In Nebraska’s case, the 2022 ballot initiative passed statewide, not just in Omaha and Lincoln. The legislature weakened what voters chose.
What You Can Do Now
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Call Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen’s office at (402) 471-2244. Tell his staff you oppose state interference with city minimum wage rules approved by Nebraska voters in 2022, and ask the governor to direct the AG to drop the Lincoln lawsuit.
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Contact Omaha City Council members directly. The council is still deliberating on its local ordinance. Find all nine council members and their contact information at cityofomaha.org/city-council. Tell them you support Omaha maintaining the voter-approved wage standard.
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Track Beau Ballard’s preemption bill. Ballard (Lincoln, District 21) has announced plans to introduce legislation barring cities from setting local minimum wages. Monitor it at the Nebraska Legislature’s bill tracking page and submit public comment when it is introduced.
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Contact your Nebraska state senator. Find them at nebraskalegislature.gov and ask them to oppose any preemption bill that strips cities of authority to implement voter-approved wage policy.