Section	Explanation
48-1101	Purpose.
48-1102	Terms, defined.
48-1103	Exceptions to act.
48-1104	Unlawful employment practice for an employer.
48-1105	Unlawful employment practice for employment agency.
48-1106	Unlawful practice for labor organizations.
48-1107	Unlawful employment practice controlling apprenticeship or training programs
48-1107.01	Unlawful employment practice for covered entity.
48-1107.02	Qualified individual with a disability;  discrimination, defined.
48-1108	Lawful employment practices.
48-1108.01	Lawful employment practices for covered entity.
48-1109	Member of Communist Party or subversive organization;  treatment.
48-1110	National Security employment; exception.
48-1111	Different standards of compensation, conditions, or privileges of employment; lawful employment practices; effect of pregnancy and related medical conditions.
48-1112	Indians; preferential treatment.
48-1113	Preferential treatment; when not required.
48-1114	Opposition to unlawful practice; participation in investigation; discrimination prohibited.
48-1115	Notice of employment; preference or discrimination, race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, national origin; unlawful; exception.
48-1116	Equal Opportunity Commission; members; appointment; term; quorum; compensation; executive director; representation.
48-1117	Commission; powers; duties; enumerated.
48-1118	Unlawful practice; charge; time for filing; prescreening procedure and determination; investigation; confidential informal actions; procedure; violation; penalty; interrogatories.
48-1119	Unlawful practice; complaint; notice; hearing; witnesses; evidence; findings; civil action authorized; order.
48-1120	Appeal; procedure; attorney's fees; failure to appeal; effect.
48-1120.01	Action in district court; deadline; notice by commission.
84-917	Contested case; appeal; procedure.
48-1121	Posting excerpts of act.
48-1122	Contracts with state and political subdivisions; requirements.
48-1123	Violations; penalty.
48-1124	Construction of act.
48-1125	Act; how cited.
48-1126	State and governmental agencies; suits against.

AN ACT relating to labor; to declare public policy; to define terms; to provide what shall and shall not be unlawful employment practices; to provide exceptions; to establish the Equal Opportunity Commission and provide for its composition, appointment, qualifications, terms, duties, powers, and compensation; to provide for informal methods of elimination of unlawful employment practices; to provide penalties; to require a contract provision as prescribed; to provide for severability; to provide a short title; and to declare an emergency.   

Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska

Section 48-1001.  Purpose. 

It is the policy of this state to foster the employment of all employable persons in the state on the basis of merit regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, disability, [marital status], or national origin and to safeguard their right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination because of their race, color, religion, sex, disability, [marital status], or national origin.  Denying equal opportunity for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, [marital status], or national origin. Denying equal opportunity for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, [marital status] ,or national origin  is contrary to the principles of freedom and is a burden on the objectives of the public policy of this state. The policy of this state does not require any person to employ an applicant for employment because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, disability, [marital status], or national origin; and the policy of this state does not require any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee to grant preferential treatment to any individual or to any group because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, [marital status], or national origin. 

It is the public policy of this state that all people in Nebraska, both with and without disabilities, shall have the right and opportunity to enjoy the benefits of living, working, and recreating within this state. It is the intent of the Legislature that state and local governments, Nebraska businesses, Nebraska labor organizations, and Nebraskans with disabilities understand their rights and responsibilities under the law regarding employment discrimination and the prevention of discrimination on the basis of disability. 

Section 48-1102.  Terms, defined.  

For purpose of the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act, unless the context otherwise requires: 

(1)  Person shall include one or more individuals, labor unions, partnerships, associations, corporations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint-stock companies, trusts,  unincorporated organizations, trustees, trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers; 

(2)  Employer shall mean a person engaged in an industry who has fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, any agent of such a person, and any party whose business is financed in whole or in part under the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority Act regardless of the number of employees and shall include the State of Nebraska, governmental agencies, and political subdivisions, regardless of the number of employees, but such term does not include (a) the United States, a corporation wholly owned by the government of the United States, or an Indian tribe or (b) a bona fide private membership club, other than a labor organization, which is exempt from taxation under section 501 (c) of the Internal Revenue Code; 

(3)  Labor organization shall mean any organization which exists wholly or in part for one or more of the following purposes: collective bargaining; dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms, or conditions of employment; or mutual aid or protection in relation to employment; 

(4)  Employment agency shall mean any person regularly undertaking with or without compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for employees opportunities to work for an employer and includes an agent of such a person; but shall not include an agency of the United States, except that such terms shall include the United States Employment Service and the system of state and local employment services receiving federal assistance; 

(5)  Covered entity shall mean an employer, an employment agency, a labor organization, or a joint labor-management committee; 

(6)  Privileges of employment shall mean terms and conditions of any employer-employee  relationship, opportunities for advancement of employees, and plant conveniences; 

(7)  Employee shall mean an individual employed by an employer; 

(8)  Commission shall mean the Equal Opportunity Commission; 

(9)  Disability shall mean (a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual, (b) a record of such an impairment, or (c) being regarded as having such an impairment. Disability shall not include homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender-identity disorders not resulting in physical impairments, other sexual behavior disorders, compulsive gambling, kleptomania, pyromania, or psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current illegal use of drugs; 

(10)  (a)  Qualified individual with a disability shall mean an individual with a disability who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the employment position that such individual holds or desires. Consideration shall be given to the employer's judgment as to what functions of a job are essential, and if an employer has prepared a written description before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job, this description shall be considered evidence of the essential functions of the job; 

(b)  Qualified individual with a disability shall not include any employee or applicant who is currently engaged in the illegal use of drugs when the covered entity acts on the basis of such use; and 

(c)  Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to exclude as a qualified individual with a disability an individual who: 

(i)  Has successfully completed a supervised drug rehabilitation program or otherwise been rehabilitated successfully and is no longer engaging in the illegal use of drugs; 

(ii)  Is participating in a supervised rehabilitation program and is no longer engaging in such use; or 

(iii)  Is erroneously regarded as engaging in such use but is not engaging in such use; 

(11)  Reasonable accommodation shall include making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, job-restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modification of examinations, training manuals, or policies, the provision of qualified readers or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Reasonable accommodation shall not include accommodations which the covered entity can demonstrate require significant difficulty or expense thereby posing an undue hardship upon the covered entity. Factors to be considered in determining whether an accommodation would pose an undue hardship shall include: 

(a)  The nature and the cost of the accommodation needed under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act; 

(b)  The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the provision of the reasonable accommodation, the number of persons employed at such facility, the effect on expenses and resources, or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the facility; 

(c)  The overall financial resources of the covered entity, the overall size of the business of a covered entity with respect to the number of its employees, and the number, type, and location of its facilities; and 

(d)  The type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the composition, structure, and functions of the work force of such entity, and the geographic separateness and administrative or fiscal relationship of the facility or facilities in question to the covered entity; 
(12)  Marital status shall mean the status of a person whether married or single; 

(13)  Because of sex or on the basis of sex shall include, but not be limited to, because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; 

(14)  Harass because of sex shall include making unwelcome sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, and engaging in other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature if (a) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment; 

(15)  Unlawful under federal law or the laws of this state shall mean acting contrary to or in defiance of the law or disobeying or disregarding the law; 

(16)  Drug shall mean a controlled substance as defined in section 28-401; and 

(17)  Illegal use of drugs shall mean the use of drugs, the possession or distribution of which is unlawful under the Uniform Controlled Substances Act, but shall not include the use of a drug taken under supervision by a licensed health care professional or any other use authorized by the Uniform Controlled Substances Act or other provisions of state law. 

Section 48-1103.  Exceptions to act. 

The Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act shall not apply to: 

 (1)  A religious corporation, association, or society with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, or society of its religious activities; or 

(2)  The employment of any individual (a) by his or her parent, grandparent, spouse, child, or grandchild or (b) in the domestic service of any person.

Section 48-1104.  Unlawful employment practice for an employer. 

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer: 

(1)  To fail or refuse to hire, to discharge, or to harass any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin; or 

(2)  To limit, advertise, solicit, segregate, or classify employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect such individual's status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin.

Section 48-1105.  Unlawful employment practice for employment agency. 

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer for employment, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin, or to classify or refer for employment any individual on the basis of  race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin.

Section 48-1106.  Unlawful practice for labor organization. 

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a labor organization: 

(1)  To exclude or to expel from its membership, or otherwise to discriminate against, any individual because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin; 

(2)  To limit, segregate, or classify its membership, or to classify or fail to refuse to refer for employment any individual, in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities, or would limit such employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect such individual's status as an employee or as an applicant for employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin; or 

(3)  To cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual in violation of this section.

Section 48-1107.  Unlawful employment practice controlling apprenticeship or training programs.  

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining, including on-the-job training programs to discriminate against any individual because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin in admission to, or employment in, any program established to provide apprenticeship or other training.

Section 48-1107.01.  Unlawful employment practice for covered entity.  

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a covered entity to discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability because of the disability of such individual in regard to job application procedures, the hiring, advancement, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.

Section 48-1107.02.  Qualified individual with a disability; discrimination, defined. 

When referring to a qualified individual with a disability, discrimination shall include: 

(1)  Limiting, segregating, or classifying a job applicant or employee in a way that adversely affects the opportunities or status of the applicant or employee because of the disability of the applicant or employee; 

(2)  Participating in a contractual or other arrangement or relationship that has the effect of subjecting a qualified individual with a disability to discrimination in the application or employment process, including a relationship with an employment agency, a labor union, an organization providing fringe benefits to an employee of the covered entity, or an organization providing training and apprenticeship programs; 

(3)  Utilizing standards, criteria, or methods of administration (a) that have the effect of discrimination on the basis of disability or (b) that perpetuate the discrimination against others who are subject to common administrative control; 

(4)  Excluding or otherwise denying equal jobs or benefits to a qualified individual with a disability because of the known disability of an individual with whom the qualified individual with a disability is known to have a relationship or association; 

(5)  Not making reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee unless such covered entity can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of the covered entity; 

(6)  Denying employment opportunities to a job applicant or employee who is otherwise a qualified individual with a disability if the denial is based upon the need of such covered entity to make reasonable accommodation to the physical or mental impairments of the employee or applicant; 

(7)  Using qualification standards, employment tests, or other selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out an individual with a disability or a class of individuals with disabilities unless the standard, test, or other selection criteria, as used by the covered entity, is shown to be job-related for the position in question and is consistent with business necessity; 

(8)  Failing to select and administer tests concerning employment in the most effective manner to ensure that, when the test is administered to a job applicant or employee who has a disability that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the skills, aptitude, or whatever other factor of the applicant or employee that the test purports to measure rather than reflecting the impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills of the employee or applicant except when such skills are the factors that the test purports to measure; 

(9)  Conducting a medical examination or making inquiries of a job applicant as to whether the applicant is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of the disability, except that: 

(a)  A covered entity may make preemployment inquiries into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions; 

(b)  A test to determine the illegal use of drugs shall not be considered a medical examination; and 

(c)  A covered entity may require a medical examination after an offer of employment has been made to a job applicant and prior to the commencement of the employment duties of the applicant and may condition an offer of employment on the results of the examination if: 
 
(i)  All entering employees are subject to such an examination regardless of disability; 

(ii)  Information obtained regarding the medical condition or history of the applicant is collected and maintained on separate forms and in separate medical files and is treated as a confidential medical record, except that (A) supervisors and managers may be informed regarding necessary restrictions of the work or duties of the employee and necessary accommodations, (B) first-aid and safety personnel may be informed, when appropriate, if the disability might require emergency treatment, (C) government officials investigating compliance with the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act shall be provided relevant information on request, and (D) information shall be made available in accordance with the Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act; and 

(iii)  The results of the examination are used only in a manner not inconsistent with the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act; and 

(10)  Requiring a medical examination or making inquiries of an employee as to whether the employee is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of the disability, unless the examination or inquiry is shown to be job related and consistent with business necessity. A test to determine the illegal use of drugs shall not be considered a medical examination. A covered entity may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories, which are part of an employee health program available to employees at work site and may make inquiries into the ability of an employee to perform job-related functions if the information obtained regarding the medical condition or history of the employee is subject to the requirements in subdivision (9)(c)(ii) and (iii) of this section.

Section 48-1108.  Lawful employment practices.  

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Nebraska Fair Employment Act: 

(1)  It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to hire and employ employees, for an employment agency to classify, or refer for employment any individual, for a labor organization to classify its membership or to classify or refer for employment any individual, or for an employer, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling apprenticeship or other training or retraining programs to admit or employ any individual in any such program, on the basis of religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin in those certain instances where religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise; and 

(2)  It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for a school, college, university, or other educational institution or institution of learning to hire and employ employees of a particular religion if such school, college, university, or other educational institution or institution of learning is, in whole or in substantial part, owned, supported, controlled, or managed by a particular religion or by a particular religious corporation, association, or society, or if the curriculum of such school, college, university, or other educational institution of learning is directed toward the propagation of a particular religion.

Section 48-1108.01.  Lawful employment practices for covered entity.  

It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for a covered entity to: 

(1)  Prohibit the illegal use of drugs and the use of alcohol at the workplace by all employees; 

(2)  Require that employees not be under the influence of alcohol or be engaging in the illegal use of drugs at the workplace; 

(3)  Require employees to comply with any federal regulations concerning the use of alcohol or the illegal use of drugs which are applicable to the position of the employee or to the industry involved; or 

(4)  Hold an employee who engages in the illegal use of drugs or who is an alcoholic to the same qualification standards for employment or job performance and behavior that such entity holds other employees even if any unsatisfactory performance or behavior is related to the drug use of alcoholism of such employee.

Section 48-1109.  Member of Communist Party or subversive organization; treatment.  

For purposes of the Nebraska Fair Employment Act, the phrase unlawful employment practice shall not be deemed to include any action or measure taken by an employer, labor organization, joint labor-management committee, or employment agency with respect to an individual who is a member of the Communist Party of the United States or of any other organization required to register as a Communist-action or Communist-front organization by final order of the Subversive Activities Control Board pursuant to the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950.

Section 48-1110.  National security employment; exception.  

Notwithstanding any other provision of the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire and employ any individual for any position, for an employer to discharge any individual from any position, for an employment agency to fail or refuse to refer any individual for employment in any position, or for a labor organization to fail or refuse to refer any individual for employment in any position if: 

(1)  The occupancy of such position, or access to the premises in or upon which any part of the duties of such position is performed or is to be performed, is subject to any requirement imposed in the interest of the national security of the United States under any security program in effect pursuant to or administered under any statute of the United States or any Executive Order of the President; and 

(2)  Such individual has not fulfilled or has ceased to fulfill that requirement.

Section 48-1111.  Different standards of compensation, conditions, or privileges of employment; lawful employment practices; effect of pregnancy and related medical conditions.  

(1)  Except as otherwise provided in the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act, it shall not be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to apply different standards of compensation, or different terms, conditions, or privileges of employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production or to employees who work in different locations, if such differences are not the result of an intention to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin, nor shall it be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to give and to act upon the results of any professionally developed ability test if such test, its administration or action upon the results is not designed, intended, or used to discriminate because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin. 

It shall not be an unlawful employment practice for a covered entity to deny privileges of employment to an individual with a disability when the qualification standards, tests, or selection criteria that screen out or tend to screen out or otherwise deny a job or benefit to an individual with a disability: 

(a)  Have been shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity and such performance cannot be accomplished by reasonable accommodation, as required by the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act and the federal Americans with disabilities Act of 1990; or 

(b)  Include a requirement that an individual shall not pose a direct threat, involving a significant risk to the health or safety of other individuals in the workplace, that cannot be eliminated by reasonable accommodation. 

It shall not be an unlawful employment practice to refuse employment based on a policy of not employing both husband and wife if such policy is equally applied to both sexes. 

(2)  Women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes, including receipt of employee benefits, as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work, and nothing in this section shall be interpreted to provide otherwise. 

This section shall not require an employer to provide employee benefits for abortion except when medical complications have arisen from an abortion. 

Nothing in this section shall preclude an employer from providing employee benefits for abortion under fringe benefit programs or otherwise affect bargaining agreements in regard to abortion.

Section 48-1112.  Indians; preferential treatment.  

Nothing in the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act shall apply to any business or enterprise on or near an Indian reservation with respect to any publicly announced employment practice of such business or enterprise under which preferential treatment is given to any individual because he is an Indian living on or near a reservation.

Section 48-1113.  Preferential treatment; when not required.  

Nothing contained in the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act shall be interpreted to require any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee subject to the act to grant preferential treatment to any individual or to any group because of the race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin of such individual or group on account of an imbalance which may exist with respect to the total number or percentage of persons of any race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin employed by any employer, referred or classified for employment by any employment agency or labor organization, admitted to membership or classified by any labor organization, or admitted to, or employed in, any apprenticeship or other training program, in comparison with the total number or percentage of persons of such race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin in any community, section, or other area, or in the available work force in any community, section, or other area.

Section 48-1114.  Opposition to unlawful practice; participation in investigation; discrimination prohibited.  

It shall be unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his or her employees or applicants for employment, for an employment agency to discriminate against any individual, or for a labor  organization to discriminate against any member thereof or applicant for membership, because he or she (1) has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act, (2) has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under the act, or (3) has opposed any practice or refused to carry out any action unlawful under the laws of the United States or this state.

Section 48-1115.  Notice of employment; preference or discrimination, race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, national origin; unlawful; exception.  

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, or employment agency to print or publish or cause to be printed or published any notice or advertisement relating to employment by such an employer or membership in or any classification or referral for employment by such a labor organization, or relating to any classification or referral for employment by such an employment agency, indicating any preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin, except that such a notice or advertisement may indicate a preference, limitation, specification or discrimination based on religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification for employment.

Section 48-1116.  Equal Opportunity Commission; members; appointment; term; quorum; compensation;  executive director; representation.  

There is hereby established an Equal Opportunity Commission to consist of seven members to be appointed by the Governor.  Terms of members shall be three years. As the terms of the members expire, the Governor shall appoint or reappoint the members of the commission for a term of three years to succeed the members whose terms expire.  The commission shall elect one member to serve as chairperson of the commission. 

Four members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting the business thereof.  Any action of the commission shall require at least four votes. A vacancy in the commission shall not impair the right of the remaining members to exercise all the powers of the commission. 

Members of the commission shall receive fifty dollars per day for their services and shall be reimbursed for their expenses actually and necessarily incurred in the performance of their duties as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177. Reimbursement shall be for not more than two regular meetings per month and not more than three training sessions for any one fiscal year. Any member of the commission may be removed by the Governor for inefficiency, neglect of duty, misconduct or malfeasance in office, after being given a written statement of the charges and an opportunity to be heard thereon. 

The commission shall establish and maintain its principal office in the city of Lincoln and such other offices within the state as it may deem necessary. The commission may meet and function at any place within the state. The commission shall appoint an executive director who shall be directly responsible to the commission. The executive director may appoint such assistants, clerks, agents, and other employees as such executive director may deem necessary, fix their compensation within the limitations provided by law, and prescribe duties of such employees.  The executive director may appoint additional staff as the commission deems necessary. 

The Attorney General shall represent and appear for the commission in all actions and proceedings involving any question under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act, the Nebraska Fair Housing Act, or Section 20-123, 20-124 or 20-132, and shall aid in an investigation or hearing had under either act or any such sections. The commission shall have an official seal which shall be judicially noticed.

Section 48-1117.  Commission; powers; duties; enumerated.  

The commission shall have the following powers and duties: 

(1)  To receive, investigate, and pass upon charges of unlawful employment practices anywhere in the state; 

(2)  To hold hearings, subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, administer oaths, take the testimony of any person under oath, and in connection therewith, to require the production for examination of any books and papers relevant to any allegation of unlawful employment practice pending before the commission. The commission may make rules as to the issuance of subpoenas, subject to the approval by a constitutional majority of the elected members of the Legislature; 

(3)  To cooperate with the federal government and with local agencies to effectuate the purposes of the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act, including the sharing of information possessed by the commission on a case that has also been filed with the federal government or local agencies if both the employer and complainant have been notified of the filing; 

(4)  To attempt to eliminate unfair employment practices by means of conference, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and persuasion; 

(5)  To require that every employer, employment agency, and labor organization subject to the act, shall (a) make and keep such records relevant to the determinations of whether unlawful employment practices have been or are being committed, (b) preserve such records for such periods, and (c) make such reports therefrom, as the commission shall prescribe by regulation or order, after public hearing, as reasonable, necessary, or appropriate for the enforcement of the act or the regulations or orders thereunder. The commission shall, by regulation, require each employer, labor organization, and joint labor-management committee subject to the act which controls an apprenticeship or other training program to maintain such records as are reasonably necessary to carry out the purposes of the act, including but not limited to, a list of applicants who wish to participate in such program, including the chronological order in which such applications were received, and to furnish to the commission, upon request, a detailed description of the manner in which persons are selected to participate in the apprenticeship or other training program. Any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee which believes that the application to it of any regulation or order issued under this section would result in undue hardship may either apply to the commission for an exemption from the application of such regulation or order, or bring a civil action in the district court for the district where such records are kept.  If the commission or the court, as the case may be, finds that the application of the regulation or order to the employer, employment agency, or labor organization in question would impose an undue hardship, the commission or the court, as the case may be, may grant appropriate relief; 

(6)  To report, not less than once every two years, to the Clerk of the Legislature and the Governor, on the hearings it has conducted and the decisions it has rendered, the other work performed by it to carry out the purposes of the act, and to make recommendations for such further legislation concerning abuses and discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin, as may be desirable. Each member of the Legislature shall receive a copy of the report required by this subdivision by making a request for it to the chairperson of the commission; 

(7)  To adopt and promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out the duties prescribed in the act; and 

(8)  To examine and review the policies and procedures of the commission, its investigators, and staff and deliver to the Legislature by January 1, 1994, a report detailing specific proposals designed to expedite the complaint, investigation, and hearing process of the commission. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, an examination of the: 

(a)  Intake procedures and guidelines of the commission; 

(b)  Mediation, conciliation, arbitration, and informal conferences designed to settle cases; 

(c)  Investigation and supervisory procedures which duplicate similar current procedures or which are burdensome to a prompt investigation of a complaint; 

(d)  Handling of reports and investigations of the commission to develop adequate clerical staff; 

(e)  Feasibility of revising and developing standard final investigative formats for employment, housing, and harassment cases; and 

(f)  Proper role and function of the commission in the hearing process. 

The review and examination of such policies and procedures in subdivision (8) of this section shall include information from the executive director, commission members, investigators, supervisory personnel, clerical staff, and the public.

Section 48-1118.  Unlawful practice; charge; time for filing; prescreening procedure and determination;  investigation; confidential informal actions; procedure; violation; penalty; interrogatories.  

(1)  Whenever it is charged in writing under oath or affirmation by or on behalf of a person or persons claiming to be aggrieved, and such charge sets forth the facts upon which it is based that an employer, employment agency, or labor organization has engaged in an unlawful employment practice, the commission staff shall furnish such employer, employment agency, or labor organization with a copy of such charge within ten days, including a statement of the date, place, and circumstances of the alleged unlawful employment practice. Prior to initiating any investigation, the commission staff shall screen a charge pursuant to an established, clearly defined prescreening procedure to determine subject matter jurisdiction to handle such charge. Any charge without sufficient subject matter jurisdiction shall not be investigated and notice of such prescreening determination shall be promptly conveyed by the executive director to the person claiming to be aggrieved.  When a charge is determined to be within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission, the commission staff shall make an investigation of such charge, but such charge shall not be made public by the commission. If the executive director determines, after such investigation, that there is not reasonable cause to believe that the charge is true, the executive director shall dismiss the charge and promptly notify the person claiming to be aggrieved and the respondent of his or her action. If the executive director determines, after such investigation, that there is reasonable cause to believe that the charge is true, the commission shall endeavor to eliminate any such alleged unlawful employment practice and settle any claim by informal methods of conference, conciliation, persuasion, mediation, or arbitration. The settlement efforts shall be scheduled and completed within thirty days of the probable cause finding. Nothing said or done during and as a part of such endeavors may be made public by the commission without the written consent of the parties, or used as evidence in a subsequent proceeding. Any officer or employee of the commission, who makes public in any manner whatever any information in violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor,* except as provided in subdivision (3) of section 48-1117. 

*  The Nebraska statutes (Chapter 28, crimes and Punishment, Article 1, Section 28-106) specify the following penalties for a Class III misdemeanor:  Maximum - three months imprisonment, or five hundred dollars fine, or both; Minimum - none. 

(2)  A written charge of violation of the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act shall be filed within three hundred days after the occurrence of the alleged unlawful employment practice, and notice of the charge, including a statement of the date, place, and circumstances of the alleged unlawful employment practice, shall be served upon the person against whom such charge is made within ten days thereafter. 

(3)  A respondent shall be required to file with the commission a written response to the written charge of violation within thirty days after service upon the respondent. Failure to file a written response within thirty days, except for good cause shown, shall result in a mandatory reasonable cause finding against the respondent by the executive director. Failure by any complainant to cooperate with the commission, its investigators, or staff, except for good cause shown, shall result in dismissal of the complaint by the executive director. 

(4)  In connection with any investigation of a charge filed under this section, the commission or its authorized agents may, at any time after a charge is filed, issue or cause to be served interrogatories and shall have at all reasonable times access to, for the purposes of examination, and the right to copy, any evidence or records of any person being investigated or proceeded against that relates to unlawful employment practices covered by the act and are relevant to the charge under investigation. The commission may seek preparation of and judicial enforcement of any legal process or interrogatories through the office of the Attorney General.

Section 48-1119.  Unlawful practice; complaint; notice; hearing; witnesses; evidence; findings; civil action authorized; order.  

(1)  In case of failure to eliminate any unlawful employment practice by informal methods of conference, conciliation, persuasion, mediation, or arbitration, the commission may order a public hearing. If such hearing is ordered, the commission shall cause to be issued and served a written notice, together with a copy of the complaint, requiring the person, employer, labor organization or employment agency  named in the complaint, hereinafter referred to as respondent, to answer such charges at a hearing before the commission at a time and place which shall be specified in such notice. Such hearing shall be within the county where the alleged unlawful employment practice occurred. The complainant shall be a party to the proceeding, and in the discretion of the commission any other person whose testimony has a bearing on the matter may be allowed to intervene therein. Both the complainant and the respondent, in addition to the commission, may introduce witnesses at the hearing. The respondent may file a verified answer to the allegations of the complaint and may appear at such hearing in person and with or without counsel.  Testimony or other evidence may be introduced by either party. All evidence shall be under oath and a record thereof shall be made and preserved. Such proceedings shall, so far as practicable, be conducted in accordance with the rules of evidence applicable in the district courts of the State of Nebraska, and shall be of public record. 

(2)  No person shall be excused from testifying or from producing any book, document, paper, or account in any investigation, or inquiry by, or hearing before the commission when ordered to do so, upon the ground that the testimony or evidence, book, document, paper, or account required of such person may tend to incriminate such person in or subject such person to penalty or forfeiture; but no person shall be prosecuted, punished or subjected to any forfeiture or penalty for or on account of any act, transaction, matter or thing concerning which such person shall have been compelled under oath to testify or produce documentary evidence, except that no person so testifying shall be exempt from prosecution or punishment for any perjury committed by such person in his or her testimony. Such immunity shall extend only to a natural person who, in obedience to a subpoena, gives testimony under oath or produces evidence, documentary or otherwise, under oath. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as precluding any person from claiming any right or privilege available to such person under the fifth amendment to the Constitution of the United States. 

(3)  After the conclusion of the hearing, the commission shall, within ten days of the receipt of the transcript or the receipt of the recommendations from the hearing officer, make and file its findings of fact and conclusions of law and make and enter an appropriate order. The hearing officer need not refer to the page and line numbers of the transcript when making his or her recommendation to the commission. Such findings of fact and conclusions of law shall be in sufficient detail to enable a court on appeal to determine the controverted questions presented by the proceedings and whether proper weight was given to the evidence. If the commission determines that the respondent has intentionally engaged in or is intentionally engaging in any unlawful employment practice, it shall issue and cause to be served on such respondent an order requiring such respondent to cease and desist from such unlawful employment practice and order such other affirmative action as may be appropriate which may include, but shall not be limited to, reinstatement or hiring of employees, with or without backpay. Backpay liability shall not accrue from a date more than two years prior to the filing of the charge with the commission. Interim earnings or amounts earnable with reasonable diligence by the person or persons discriminated against shall operate to reduce the back pay otherwise allowable. 

(4)  A complainant who has suffered physical, emotional, or financial harm as a result of a violation of section 48-1104 or 48-1114 may, at any stage of the proceedings prior to dismissal, file an action directly in the district court of the county where such alleged violation occurred. If the complainant files a district court action on the charge, the complainant shall provide written notice of such filing to the commission, and such notification shall immediately terminate all proceedings before the commission. The district court shall docket and try such case as any other civil action, and any successful complainant shall be entitled to appropriate relief, including temporary or permanent injunctive relief, general and special damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and costs.

(5)  No order of the commission shall require the admission or reinstatement of an individual as a member of a labor organization or the hiring, reinstatement, or promotion of an individual as an employee, or the payment to him or her of any back pay, if such individual was refused admission, suspended, or expelled, or was refused employment or advancement or was suspended or discharged for any reason other than discrimination on account of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin, or in violation of section 48-1114. If the commission finds that a respondent has not engaged in any unfair employment practice, it shall within thirty days state its findings of fact and conclusions of law. A copy of any order shall be served upon the person against whom it runs or his or her attorney and notice thereof shall be given to the other parties to the proceedings or their attorneys. Such order shall take effect twenty days after service thereof unless otherwise provided and shall continue in force either for a period which may be designated therein or until changed or revoked by the commission. 

(6)  Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, until a transcript of the record of the proceedings is filed in the district court as provided in section 48-1120, the commission may, at any time, upon reasonable notice and in such a manner it shall deem proper, modify or set aside, in whole or in part, any finding or order made by it. 

Section 48-1120.  Appeal; procedure; attorney's fees; failure to appeal; effect.  

(1)  Any party to a proceeding before the commission aggrieved by such decision and order and directly affected thereby may appeal the decision and order, and the appeal shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. (84-917) 

(2)  In any action or proceeding under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act wherein an appeal is lodged in the district court, the court, in its discretion, may allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fees as part of the costs. 

Section 48-1120.01.  Action in district court; deadline; notice by commission.  

The deadline for filing an action directly in the district court is ninety days after the complainant receives notice of the last action the commission will take on the complaint or charge. When entering the last action on the complaint or charge, the commission shall issue written notice of such ninety-day deadline to the complainant by certified mail, return receipt requested. The last action on the complaint or charge includes the issuance of the final order after hearing, the determination of reasonable cause or no reasonable cause, and any other administrative action which ends the commission's involvement with the complaint or charge.

Section 84-917.  Contested case; appeal; procedure.  

(1)  Any person aggrieved by a final decision in a contested case, whether such decision is affirmative or negative in form, shall be entitled to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to prevent resort to other means of review, redress or relief provided by law. 

(2)(a)  Proceedings for review shall be instituted by filing a petition in the district court of the county where the action is taken within thirty days after the service of the final decision by the agency. All parties of record shall be made parties to the proceedings for review. If an agency's only role in a contested case is to act as a neutral fact finding body, the agency shall not be a party of record. In all other cases, the agency shall be a party of record.  Summons shall be served within thirty days of the filing of the petition in the manner provided for service of a summons in a civil action. If the agency whose decision is appealed from is not a party of record, the petitioner shall serve a copy of the petition and a request for preparation of the official record upon the agency within thirty days of the filing of the petition. The court, in its discretion, may permit other interested persons to intervene. 

(b)  A petition for review shall set forth: (i) The name and mailing address of the petitioner; (ii) the name and mailing address of the agency whose action is at issue; (iii) identification of the final decision at issue together with a duplicate copy of the final decision; (iv) identification of the parties in the contested case that led to the final decision; (v) facts to demonstrate proper venue; (vi) the petitioner's reasons for believing that relief should be granted; and (vii) a request for relief, specifying the type and extent of the relief requested. 
 
(3)  The filing of the petition or the service of summons upon such agency shall not stay enforcement of a decision.  The agency may order a stay. The court may order a stay after notice of the application therefore to such agency and to all parties of record. If the agency has found that its action on application for stay or other temporary remedies is justified to protect against a substantial threat to the public health, safety, or welfare, the court may not grant relief unless the court finds that: (a) The applicant is likely to prevail when the court finally disposes of the matter; (b) without relief, the applicant will suffer irreparable injuries; (c) the grant of relief to the applicant will not substantially harm other parties to the proceedings; and (d) the threat to the public health, safety, or welfare relied on by the agency is not sufficiently serious to justify the agency's action in the circumstances. The court may require the party requesting such stay to give bond in such amount and conditioned as the court may direct. 

(4)  Within thirty days after service of the petition or within such further time as the court for good cause shown may allow, the agency shall prepare and transmit to the court a certified copy of the official record of the proceedings had before the agency. Such official record shall include: (a) Notice of all proceedings; (b) any pleadings, motions, requests, preliminary or intermediate rulings and orders, and any similar correspondence to or from the agency pertaining to the contested case; (c) the transcribed record of the hearing before the agency including all exhibits and evidence introduced during such hearing, a statement of matters officially noticed by the agency during the proceeding, and all proffers of proof and objections and rulings thereon; and (d) the final order appealed from. The agency shall charge the petitioner with the reasonable direct cost or require the petitioner to pay the cost for preparing the official record for transmittal to the court in all cases except when the petitioner is not required to pay a filing fee. The agency may require payment or bond prior to the transmittal of the record. 

(5)(a)  The review shall be conducted by the court without a jury de novo on the record of the agency. Review may not be obtained of any issue that was not raised before the agency unless such issue involves one of the grounds for reversal or modification enumerated in subsection (6) of this section. (b) If the court determines that the interest of justice would be served by the resolution of any other issue not raised before the agency, the court may remand the case to the agency for further proceedings. 

(6)  The court may affirm, reverse, or modify the decision of the agency or remand the case to the agency for further proceedings. 

(7)  The review provided by this section shall not be available in any case where other provisions of law prescribe the method of appeal.

Section 48-1121.  Posting excerpts of law.  

Every employer, employment agency and labor organization subject to the provisions of the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act shall post in a conspicuous place or places on his or its premises a notice to be prepared or approved by the commission which shall set forth excerpts of the act and such other relevant information which the commission deems necessary to explain the act.

Section 48-1122.  Contracts with state and political subdivisions; requirements. 

Every contract to which the state or any of its political subdivisions is a party shall contain a provision requiring the contractor and his subcontractors not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment, to be employed in the performance of such contract, with respect to his hire, tenure, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of his race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin.

Section 48-1123.  Violations; penalty.  

Any person, employer, labor organization, or employment agency who or which willfully resists, prevents, impedes, or interferes with the commission or any of its members or representatives in the performance of duty under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act, or willfully violates an order of the commission shall be guilty of a Class III misdemeanor. Procedure for the review of the order shall not be deemed to be such willfull conduct.

Section 48-1124.  Construction of act. 

Nothing contained in the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act shall be deemed to repeal any of the provisions of the civil rights law, any other law of this state, or any municipal ordinance relating to discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, marital status, or national origin.

Section 48-1125.  Act; how cited. 

Sections 48-1101 to 48-1125 shall be known and may be cited as the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act.

Section 48-1126. State and governmental agencies; suits against.  

The state and governmental agencies created by the state may be sued upon claims arising under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act in the same manner as provided by such laws for suits against other employers.

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