138 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 2, § 001
Any person charging on her or his own behalf to have been personally aggrieved by an unlawful employment practice or practices may make, sign and file with the Commission a charge in writing under the oath or affirmation of the Complainant. A charge may be filed by a legal guardian or an individual with a power of attorney on behalf of another person who claims to be personally aggrieved by an unlawful employment practice or practices.
A charge shall be filed with the Commission. The charge shall be signed by the Complainant or legal guardian or an individual with a power of attorney on behalf of another person who claims to be personally aggrieved by an unlawful employment practice or practices under oath or affirmation before a notary public or other person duly authorized by law to administer oaths or affirmations. The charge may be filed on forms provided by the Commission, blank copies of which will be supplied by the Commission upon request and will be available at the Commission offices. The original charge shall be duly affirmed within three hundred (300) days of the alleged discriminatory act if it was not notarized in its original form. Notarial service will be provided without charge by the Commission.
A charge shall contain the following:
The charge may be filed by personal delivery, mail or facsimile, addressed to any office of the Commission.
Notwithstanding the provisions of 2.001.03 of these Rules and Regulations, a charge may be amended as follows: to cure technical defects or omissions; to clarify and amplify allegations made therein; to allege additional acts which constitute an unlawful employment practice or practices which are related to or growing out of the subject matter of the original charge if such facts were not known at the time the original charge was filed. All such amendments will relate back to the original filing date. Upon any amendment of a charge, a copy thereof shall be served by the Commission on the Respondent by certified mail or through personal service within ten (10) days.
The Respondent shall file with the Commission a written response to the written charge within thirty (30) days after service of the charge upon the Respondent. The Respondent shall file a written response to new allegations contained in an amended charge within thirty (30) days after service of the amended charge upon the Respondent. The response shall respond in full to each specific allegation contained in the charge affidavit. The Commission may reject and refuse to file any response which does not respond in full to each specific allegation in the charge affidavit. Prior to rejecting a response, the Commission shall notify the Respondent in writing that the response is deficient and which allegations need to be fully addressed. The Respondent shall have fifteen (15) days from the receipt of deficiency notice to file a full response.
Failure to file a full written response to a charge or an amended charge within thirty (30) days, except upon good cause shown, shall result in a reasonable cause finding against the Respondent by the Executive Director. If a Respondent believes it has good cause for failing to file a response within thirty (30) days, the Respondent shall make a request for extension of time to the office of the Commission. Such request must be filed within the original thirty (30) day time period. Good cause shall be determined on a case-by-case basis, in light of all the surrounding facts. No extension of time will be granted for a period beyond sixty (60) days from the date of service of the charge upon the Respondent.
After the charge has been filed and served on the Respondent, neither party, during the Commission's investigative process, is allowed to conduct their own formal investigation of the NEOC charge that would consist of the scheduling of depositions, the serving of interrogatories, or requests for production of documents on the opposing party outside of the NEOC's investigation procedure. Any person who attempts to conduct such an investigation will be deemed to have interfered with the Commission's investigative process. This provision does not preclude Respondents from conducting an internal investigation or participating in any lawful recognized tribunal, including, but not limited to, Workers' Compensation Court proceedings, unemployment compensation proceedings, and labor grievances.
The charge must be filed within three hundred (300) days from the date of the occurrence of the alleged unlawful employment practice or practices.
A Complainant may request in writing that a filed charge or any part thereof be withdrawn. The Commission shall serve a copy of the request for withdrawal to all parties previously notified of the charge. The Commission may reject a request for withdrawal in the interests of justice if it believes that such action was taken as a result of coercion or intimidation, or when the request has been made at the close of a full investigation. Written notice of the action taken on the request shall be sent by the Commission, by regular mail, to all parties who have been previously notified of the charge.
A Complainant may file an action in state district court anytime prior to the dismissal of the charge. The Complainant shall immediately notify the Commission in writing when he or she files such an action in state district court. Upon receipt of notification of a state court suit, the Commission shall terminate all proceedings before it and close the case. Notification that the case has been closed shall be sent by regular mail to all parties who have been previously notified of the charge.
138 Neb. Admin. Code, ch. 2, § 001