What Kinds of Discrimination Are Against the Law in Nevada?
Not only is discrimination against other individuals for their protected characteristics against the law, but it should also be unthinkable. Despite this, many Nevada residents have reasons to complain about discrimination in life and the workplace.
The state of Nevada maintains a policy that states employee recruitment, assignment, training, appointment, compensation, and promotion should occur solely based on merit and without regard to an individual’s protected characteristics. It is against the law to discriminate against another individual in the workplace or in other situations based on that individual’s race, skin color, sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, religious beliefs, age, national origin, pregnancy, genetics, domestic partnership status, or disability.
In addition to being a member of a protected group, an individual must also be qualified for the job or situation they hope to benefit from. For example, if a disabled resident applies for the same job as a non-disabled resident and does not get the position, they may have reason to complain about disability discrimination. However, the employer offering the job would have the right to dispute these discrimination charges by showing that the other individual was more qualified for the job position, thus making the employment decision non-discriminatory in nature.
If you have faced discrimination because of your disability, it is essential that you seek professional legal counsel from experienced attorneys. Our Las Vegas law firm has extensive experience representing clients in various disability cases, including discrimination complaints. To learn more about our legal services and how we may assist you during this difficult time, please contact our law office to schedule a free consultation today.
What Are Examples of Disability Discrimination in Nevada?
There are several types of discriminatory practices that could apply to all protected characteristics, including harassment, direct and indirect discrimination, and victimization. There are a couple of additional discriminatory practices that are unique to those with disabilities, however. These include failure to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person and discrimination arising from a disability.
Disability harassment and discrimination can occur at work, in an educational setting, when renting or buying property, or when providing goods or services to an individual. Direct discrimination involves being treated less favorably because of a disability than someone who does not have such a disability would be treated in similar circumstances. Indirect discrimination relates to when there is a policy, practice, or rule that seems to apply equally to everyone but actually puts disabled individuals at an unfair disadvantage.
Common examples of disability discrimination include the following:
- Demoting an employee because of a disability
- Educational providers failing to meet the needs of disabled students
- Failure to provide reasonable accommodations for an individual with a disability
- Forcing disabled people to pay for wheelchair access
- Harassing employees based on their disabilities
- Hostile work environment because of a disability
- Landlords refusing to make reasonable adjustments for your disability
- Refusing to hire a job applicant because they are disabled
- Retaliation against a request for reasonable accommodations
- Terminating employment because of a new disability
- Violations of a disabled person’s dignity
Where Do You File a Disability Discrimination Complaint in NV?
Disabled Nevada residents and those with discrimination complaints may file those complaints with either the Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC) or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
You must understand that you cannot file a lawsuit unless you first file a complaint with either the NERC or the EEOC.
What Information Should Be Provided in a Complaint Filing?
To file a successful complaint for disability discrimination, it is essential that your complaint have all the necessary information provided.
Important information includes, but may not be exclusive to, the following:
- Your name, address, and telephone number
- The name, address, and telephone number of the party accused of discrimination
- A short description of the alleged violation and the events that occurred
- The date of the violation of rights
- If you are filing a complaint based on a disability, you must include information about your disability
Filing a complaint is free. We recommend that you retain professional legal representation from an experienced lawyer before filing a complaint. Doing so can increase the likelihood of success for your discrimination case.
How Long Do You Have to File a Claim?
You must not delay contacting the NERC for EEOC to file a claim for discrimination. There are strict statutes of limitations for these types of cases. In order to preserve your chance of success, you must file a disability discrimination complaint with the NERC or EEOC within 300 days of the date where you believe you were discriminated against.
What Happens After You File a Complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)?
After you have filed your claim with the EEOC, the agency will give you a copy of your charges with a number. Within ten days, the agency will also send a notice and a copy of the charges to the accused employers. After this, the EOC may elect to do one of the following:
- Request that both you and your employer take part in mediation
- Dismiss the claim if it was not filed on time or if the EEOC does not have jurisdiction over the case
- Ask the employer to provide a written answer for the charges, then pass along those charges and information to an investigator
On average, the EEOC requires nearly six months to investigate a discrimination charge.
Schedule a Free Case Evaluation with Our Compassionate Legal Team Today
Disabled Nevada residents and workers who believe they have been discriminated against because of their disabilities are strongly encouraged to retain professional legal representation from an experienced lawyer.
Our Nevada law firm has years of experience representing clients in a variety of disability cases, including discrimination cases. We would be proud to represent your interests in and out of the court of law as you pursue the most optimal outcome for your case.
To schedule a free consultation with an attorney, please contact our Las Vegas law office at 800-975-1866.