48-1117 Commission; powers; duties; enumerated.
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, and 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. SourceLaws 1965, c. 276, § 17, p. 790; Laws 1973, LB 266, § 11; Laws 1977, LB 161, § 11; Laws 1979, LB 322, § 18; Laws 1981, LB 545, § 11; Laws 1984, LB 14A, § 3; Laws 1993, LB 124, § 3; Laws 1993, LB 360, § 15.