Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission

The Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission[1] is the state agency that enforces the Nebraska Fair Employment Act of 1965. The commission consists of seven members and an executive director. [2] The commission receives and investigates civil rights complaints that allege unlawful discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodation.

Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission
TypeCivil Rights Agency
HeadquartersCentennial Government Building
Location
  • Lincoln, Nebraska
Commission Chairperson
Patrick Borchers
Executive Director
Manra Munn
Websitehttps://neoc.nebraska.gov

Commissioners

Executive Director
  • Manra Munn

Current Commissioners
  • Patrick Borchers - Chairperson
  • Royce Jeffries - Vice-Chairperson
  • Kristin Yates - Commissioner
  • Amber Schuppan - Commissioner
  • Rita Griess - Commissioner
  • John Arnold - Commissioner
  • Eric Drumheller - Commissioner

Background

The Nebraska Equal Opportunity Act was created as a response to the Civil Rights Movement. The unicameral legislature sought to implement its own state laws to compliment the recent passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Originally, the law prohibited discrimination in employment. [3] However, in 1967, it was expanded to cover equal pay. [4] In 1969, to cover housing and public accommodation. [5]

Criticism

The commission has a very low rate of probable cause findings. In its 2018-2019 annual report [6], the rate was only 0.01%. For the EEOC, it was 3.0% for the same time period. [7] The low rate calls into question the veracity of the commissions claims that it is (1) neutral and (2) works to eradicate discrimination.

2018–2019 Civil Rights Enforcement Outcomes

Discrimination against Latinos

In 2020, the NEOC was sued for failing to hire Latinos. According to a filed lawsuit in the District Court of Lancaster County, the Executive Director of the commission was accused not hiring highly qualified latinos as civil rights investigators in 2018. [8] Since that time, the commission has worked to become more inclusive. Between 2018 to 2019, the NEOC ran several ads in the Omaha area with La Nueva Radio, to improve outreach to the Hispanic community.

References
  1. "Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission Website". State of Nebraska.
  2. "Commissioners of the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission". State of Nebraska.
  3. Nebraska Fair Employment Act. "Nebraska Revised Statute 48-1102 et seq". Nebraska Legislature.
  4. Nebraska Equal Pay Act. "Nebraska Revised Statute 48-1221 et seq". Nebraska Legislature.
  5. Nebraska Fair Housing Act. "Nebraska Revised Statute 20-139 et seq". Nebraska Legislature.
  6. 2018-2019 Report for the NEOC. "Annual Report" (PDF). Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission.
  7. Enforcement Statistics. "All Statutes (Charges filed with EEOC) FY 1997 - FY 2019". Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
  8. Dini v. Munn/NEOC | 20 CV 611
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