Tag Archives: NEOC

Fast and Federal: How LGBT Nebraskans should sue for discrimination on the job

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In a somewhat surprising 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court held firing an employee because of sexual orientation or gender identity is illegal under federal law.

This meaningful decision was even more meaningful in Nebraska. Nebraska lacks state laws that prohibit workplace discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

So, how do gay, lesbian and transgender individuals seek justice for workplace discrimination in Nebraska?

180 days to file with EEOC

If you want to sue your employer for sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination in Nebraska, you should file a charge with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The charge must be filed within 180 days of when you were fired or your employer took adverse action against you. This is the safest way to bring a case.

Filing a charge of discrimination against your employer is not the same as suing your employer. But under federal law, you should file a charge of discrimination before you can sue your employer. Federal law also requires you to file in federal court. You have 90 days from getting this written permission, called a right to sue, to file in federal court.

Nebraska law normally allows you 300 days to file a charge of discrimination. Charges filed within the 300 days under state law are normally timely under federal law as well. But since Nebraska doesn’t formally cover gender identity or sexual orientation, it is uncertain whether the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC) would accept that charge. It is also uncertain or whether the EEOC would accept a charge filed after 180 days.

I believe any charge of discrimination based on gender identity or sexual discrimination filed after 180 days would be challenged. as untimely.

How you win your case

I’ve read a lot of misinformation on social media (no surprise) about how discrimination cases work. First, as Justice Gorsuch makes clear, gender identity or sexual orientation does not need to be the sole reason you were fired. Sexual orientation or gender identity just need to be part of the reason you were fired.

Second, the vast majority of discrimination cases are proved by circumstantial evidence. Just because your employer doesn’t tell you that you were being fired for being gay or transgender doesn’t mean you can’t win your case. In a related note, your employer making up a reason to fire you isn’t a defense either. In fact, this would help your case as making up a reason to fire someone as cover for a real reason is defined legally as pretext. Pretext is circumstantial evidence you were fired for an unlawful reason.

Finally, being fired for poor performance or breaking a rule at work may not be a defense to a discrimination case. If your employer tolerated the same misconduct by a similarly situated heterosexual or cisgendered co-worker, that would also prove discrimination.

After 180 days but before 300 days

Nebraska law does not require that you file a charge of discrimination with the NEOC to sue your employer for illegal discrimination.  But Nebraska has a 300 day statute of limitations on filing a civil suit against an employer for discrimination. In other words, under state law in Nebraska, you can circumvent the NEOC altogether.

But why would you file a state law claim when state law doesn’t expressly include gender identity and sexual orientation?

The answer is that courts in Nebraska tend to follow federal law in interpreting our state’s anti-discrimination laws. So, you could file a case within 300 days and still succeed under Nebraska state law. But there is no guarantee the Nebraska Supreme Court would follow the United States Supreme Court. Even if the Nebraska Supreme Court found in your favor, the employer would be almost certain to appeal. Appeals can be costly and time consuming. They can also delay resolution of a case.

Bad employees can win discrimination cases, but…

Finally any employee suing their employer for gender identity or sexual orientation discrimination under current Nebraska state law would be acting as a test case. In practical terms that means you need to have a very strong case. All three cases in the United States Supreme Court decision fit that description. Nebraska law doesn’t include an “so-so” or “mediocre” employee exception to our workplace discrimination laws. But in practical terms, a court may be tempted to dismiss a test case involving a sub-par employee.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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The NEOC Is Slow To Investigate Claims, Here Are Some Alternatives For Employees Dealing With Discrimination On The Job

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The Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC) is taking at least upwards of 7 ½ months to assign investigators in employment discrimination cases. In practical terms, this means that discrimination charges wait months before they are investigated, and claimants can wait for over a year for those investigations to conclude from the time they file a charge.

So what is going on and why does it matter? What can employees who believe they were discriminated against on the job do to prosecute cases in the meantime?

Delays at the NEOC

Currently the NEOC is experiencing staffing shortages. Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts has instituted a state employee hiring freeze and that freeze appears to have impacted the NEOC. A renewed attention to sexual harassment from the #MeToo movement may also be increasing discrimination claims.

What’s the advantage of filing a charge with the NEOC?

In 13 years of representing employees, I believe the primary benefit to filing a charge with the NEOC is to have investigator build a case file. I may quibble with methods or conclusions of the investigations, but the investigations often uncover solid evidence that can be used in later in litigation.

The NEOC is also somewhat helpful in conciliating or settling charges short of trial. There is nothing wrong a prompt resolution of claim that provides closure, certainty and compensation for a wronged employee.

When employees have to wait at least 7-8 months to even have an investigator assigned, wronged employees have to wait for those benefits and, in my opinion, that delay diminishes those benefits that come from filing a charge with the NEOC.

Alternatives to NEOC: OHHR and the LCHR

Employees who work in Omaha or Lincoln, can file charges with Omaha Human Rights and Relations Commission and Lincoln Commission on Human Rights (I have been an LCHR Commissioner since 2014) OHHR and LCHR investigate charges much faster than the NEOC.

At the February meeting of the LCHR three employment discrimination claims were voted on by the Commission. Those claims were filed roughly 60-90 days before the hearing.  OHHR aims to process charges within 100-120 days of filing.

OHHR and LCHR investigators are as good as NEOC investigators and are effective at settling or conciliating claims. OHHR and LCHR also investigate smaller employees that the NEOC can’t. The OHHR also expressly investigates sexual orientation claims while the NEOC would have to shoehorn such an investigation into a “sex-plus” framework.

Why you might not need to file a discrimination charge at all

Nebraska allows employees to file discrimination and retaliation cases directly in state court under Neb. Rev. Stat. 20-148 if they are filed within 300 days of the last act of discrimination. Employees don’t need to file an administrative charge of discrimination with the NEOC, EEOC or any other agency.

There are lots of fair employment laws that don’t require filing a charge with a government agency to file suit. This includes all wage and hour laws, including the Equal Pay Act. Employees also do not need to file a discrimination charge in order to bring a common law retaliation case. Finally, African-Americans do not need to file a discrimination charge to bring an action under 42 USC 1981.

What to do if your claim is stuck at the NEOC

Nebraska law allows an employee to request a “right to sue” letter at any point during the NEOC process. If you jointly file a charge with the EEOC, you can request a right to sue letter on a federal charge after 180 days from filing.

Watch out in disability discrimination cases

Due to recent court decisions in Nebraska about the definition of disability, it is probably prudent for employees in Nebraska to bring charges of disability discrimination under both state and federal law which often times means filing a charge with NEOC and EEOC. The NEOC usually jointly files discrimination charges under state and federal law.

Conclusion

I don’t like writing “pitchy” posts, but because of the backlog at the NEOC, if you feel you have been discriminated or retaliated against on the job in Nebraska, call an experienced employment attorney before you call the NEOC. Bluntly, you may not have a case and you may be making the NEOCs backlog worse by filing a weak claim. But even if you don’t have a strong discrimination claim you can still get advice about a severance agreement, help on an unemployment claim or find out that maybe you have a workers’ compensation or wage and hour claim.

 

If you do have a strong claim, you may not need to file a charge with the NEOC or file a discrimination charge at all in order to pursue your rights in court.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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