Nevada Fair Employment Practices Act — scope and covered employers
Nevada's primary employment discrimination statute is the Nevada Fair Employment Practices Act, codified in NRS 613.310–613.4383. An "employer" under the Act means any person who has 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (NRS 613.310(2)). The definition excludes the United States and corporations wholly owned by the United States, Indian tribes, and private membership clubs exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c). The Act prohibits discrimination based on race (including hair texture and protective hairstyles), color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, and national origin. Complaints alleging unlawful employment practices are filed with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.
Source: NRS 613.310, NRS 613.330, NRS 613.405
Filing deadline for employment discrimination complaints with NERC
A complaint alleging unlawful employment discrimination must be filed with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission not later than 300 days after the date of the occurrence of the alleged practice. A complainant may not file with the Commission if another state or federal administrative body with comparable jurisdiction has already made a decision upon a complaint based on the same facts and legal theory.
Source: NRS 233.160
Prohibited employment practices for employers under NRS 613.330
NRS 613.330 enumerates the specific actions an employer with 15 or more employees may not take on the basis of a protected characteristic. The statute defines three core categories of unlawful conduct.
Refusal to hire, discharge, or discrimination in terms and conditions (NRS 613.330(1)(a)) It is unlawful for an employer to fail or refuse to hire any person, to discharge any person, or otherwise to discriminate against any person with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of race (including hair texture and protective hairstyles associated with race), color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, or national origin. This subsection reaches initial hiring decisions, termination, and any adverse change to pay, benefits, schedule, job assignments, or working conditions.
Limitation, segregation, or classification of employees (NRS 613.330(1)(b)) It is unlawful to limit, segregate, or classify an employee in a way that would deprive or tend to deprive the employee of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect the employee's status, because of a protected characteristic. This prohibition covers job channeling (e.g., assigning women only to certain departments), formal or informal tracking systems, and barriers to promotion or lateral transfer that turn on protected status rather than legitimate business criteria.
Wage-disclosure discrimination (NRS 613.330(1)(c)) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7 of NRS 613.330, an employer may not discriminate against any employee because the employee has inquired about, discussed, or voluntarily disclosed the employee's wages or the wages of another employee. This protection applies to both private conversations and collective efforts to share pay information; Nevada law mirrors the federal National Labor Relations Act's protection for concerted wage discussion.
Interference with disability aids and service animals (NRS 613.330(4)–(6)) An employer commits an unlawful practice if it interferes with, impedes the use of, or withholds any aid or appliance used by an employee with a disability. Separately, an employer may not directly or indirectly refuse to permit an employee with a disability to keep a service animal (as defined in NRS 426.097) with the employee at all times in the workplace. An exception exists for miniature horses: the employer may refuse to permit a miniature-horse service animal if the employer determines it is not reasonable to comply, using the assessment factors in 28 C.F.R. § 36.302(c)(9).
Criminal-history consideration by public-sector appointing authorities (NRS 613.330(8)) For appointing authorities governed by chapter 284 of NRS (state civil service), the Administrator of the Division of Human Resource Management, and the governing bodies of counties, cities, and towns, it is unlawful to consider an applicant's criminal history without following the procedural requirements in NRS 245.046, 268.402, 269.0802, 284.281, or 284.283, as applicable. These cross-referenced statutes mandate "ban the box" sequencing—deferring criminal-history inquiries until after an initial screening or conditional offer.
NRS 613.330 applies only to employers that meet the 15-employee threshold in NRS 613.310(2). Exceptions to these prohibitions are cataloged in NRS 613.350 (bona fide occupational qualifications, seniority systems, testing for ability, business necessity) and NRS 613.370 (national security).
Source: NRS 613.330