Nebraska (NE) Sexual Discrimination Law in the Workplace

August 25th, 2006 Posted by Hannah

Nebraska sexual discrimination law in the workplace falls under the Nebraska Fair Employment Act and the Nebraska Equal Pay Act. Under the fair employment act, employers are those people who have fifteen or more employees. It includes the State of Nebraska, government agencies and political subdivisions regardless of their number of employees which is the same at the federal Title VII law. The Nebraska Equal Pay Act only applies to those employers who have twenty-five or more employees.

Under the Nebraska Fair Employment Act, employers cannot discriminate employment terms on the basis of sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions). They also cannot promote or allow sexual harassment when such conduct is a term or condition of employment, when such conduct is used as a determining factor for employment decisions or when such conduct creates a hostile or offensive working environment.

People wishing to make a claim against their employers have 300 days from the date of the alleged violation to contact the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission and file a complaint. However, people filing complaints only dealing with equal pay violations have four years to file.

To file a complaint, you’ll need to contact your regional office and make an appointment with an intake officer who will help you filing a formal charge. The Commission will then work with you and your employer to try to reach an early settlement. If that doesn’t happen, your case will be investigated. From there, the Commission will determine if there is reasonable cause to believe that your rights have been violated. If so, you and your employer will enter another settlement phase. If that fails, your case will be sent to a public hearing.

If you choose to take your case directly to the federal courts, you must first file with the EEOC and request a “Right to Sue” letter. If you want to go with the state courts, in Nebraska you can do so without first filing with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission.

Employees and employers need to stay informed of their rights and responsibilities when it comes to sexual discrimination in the workplace. One this the employers can do to help with this is to keep a current Nebraska Labor Law Poster available.

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