Federal & State Regulations | Discrimination - Other - Nebraska

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

The federally protected classes in employment discrimination include race, color, religion, national origin, age (40 and over), sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, and genetic information.

The Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act identifies the following protected classes for purposes of employment discrimination:

Race (includes characteristics such as skin color, hair texture, and protective hairstyles, including braids, locks, and twists),
Color,
Religion,
Sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; Harassment),
Disability,
Marital status (status as married or single),
National origin, and
Age (contains provisions barring retaliation).

The law applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

Sex discrimination under the Act includes harassment, which includes unwelcome sexual advances, requesting sexual favors, and engaging in other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Disability under the Act is defined as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities. However, explicitly states that disability discrimination does not include homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestism, transsexualism, pedophilia, exhibitionism, voyeurism, gender-identity disorders not resulting in physical impairments, other sexual behavior disorders, problem gambling, kleptomania, pyromania, or psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from current illegal use of drugs.

CROWN Act

The Nebraska CROWN Act was introduced to define the terms “race” and “protective hairstyles” as they relate to unlawful employment discrimination under the Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act.

“Race” was defined to include hair textures and “protective hairstyles”.

"Protective hairstyles" includes braids, locks, and twists.

However, it is not an unlawful under the Nebraska CROWN Act for an employer to implement bona fide health and safety standards that regulate the expression of an applicant's or employee's race, national origin, or religion if the employer demonstrates that:

Without the implementation of such standard, it is reasonably certain that the health and safety of the applicant, employee, or other materially connected person will be impaired;
The standard is adopted for non-discriminatory reasons;
The standard is applied equally; and
The employer has engaged in good faith efforts to reasonably accommodate the applicant or employee.

Also, it is not an unlawful employment practice for the Nebraska State Patrol, a county sheriff, a city or village police department, or any other law enforcement agency in Nebraska or the Nebraska National Guard to impose its own dress and grooming standards.