Nevada Wrongful Termination Laws

Nevada adheres to federal wrongful termination and employment discrimination laws under the Federal Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, they have some stringent penalties and statutes in state legislation that supplement those laws. While it is an “at will” employment state, and employees and employers can both terminate employment for any reason not specifically protected in federal and state laws, employees whose rights have been violated under those laws have legal options to file claims and/or lawsuits.

Nevada’s Specific Labor Laws

Supplemental laws protecting employees in the state of Nevada are enumerated in the chart below:

Benefit	State Law	Additional Benefits
Right to Work	Yes
State Minimum Wage	$5.15 with health benefits; $6.15 without	No tip credit; minimum wage for tipped employees $5.15
State Military Leave	Yes	Discrimination based on Nevada National Guard service prohibited
Jury Duty	Yes	Unpaid leave; discrimination for jury duty prohibited; minimum 1 day’s notice required
Voting	Yes	Paid time off if required, based on work hours and distance from polls: 1 hour off for those who work 2 miles or less from polls, 2 hours off for those 2 to 10 miles from polls, 3 hours off for those more than 10 miles from polls; time off not required if employee has sufficient non-work time during polling hours; at least 1 day notification required
Garnishment	Yes	Employer fee of $3 per pay period and up to $12 per month for general garnishments; $3 per child support payment; employer penalties prohibited; no number of garnishments specified
State Family & Medical Leave	Yes	All employers covered; parent, guardian, or child custodian eligible; family leave same as sick or medical leave policies; leave must apply to pregnancy, miscarriage, and childbirth
Arrest & Conviction Records	Yes	Records available only if they contain convictions or pending charges (including parole or probation); gaming board may access records for convictions related to gaming
Discrimination	Yes	For 15 or more employees; age (40 or older); national origin; disability (physical or mental); gender; pregnancy/childbirth; race; religion; sexual orientation; genetic testing; lawful use of any product while not on work time; use of service animal
Whistleblower	Yes	Applies to employees of physicians; public and private employees who report health and safety violations; public employees who report violations of regulations/laws, authority, abuses, and waste
Plant Closings	No

*These laws change often, so consult local statutes for the most up-to-date information.

Nevada Discrimination Laws

Discrimination can be the basis for wrongful termination as well. Nevada has guidelines by which violations of federal laws prohibiting discrimination for race, color, religion, sex, or national origin can be remedied:

Private lawsuits are preempted by claims made through state agencies
Once agency claims dropped or exhausted, employee may file private lawsuit
Employees do have the right to recover attorney’s fees
The statute of limitations for Nevada discrimination claims is 180 days from violation

Filing a Claim for Wrongful Termination

In Nevada, employees must first pursue a claim for wrongful termination or discrimination in the workplace through state EEOC offices. After a thorough investigation and an attempt at mediation and conciliation, if the claim is still not satisfied, either the agency or the employee and their employee rights attorney may pursue a civil lawsuit.

Legal Remedies for Wrongful Termination

Claims, mediation negotiations, and civil lawsuits may pursue a number of remedies under federal and state labor laws:

Reinstatement of benefits and position
Lost wages
Compensation for stress and suffering
Punitive damages
Attorney’s fees and court costs
Injunctive relief in the workplace

Nevada state laws provide additional penalties for employers guilty of violating wrongful termination laws which can be quite stiff:

Jury duty – termination or threatening to terminate is gross misdemeanor with fines of up to $2,000 and/or 1 year in prison; may be liable for back pay, damages equal to back pay, punitive damages up to $50,000, and reinstatement; dissuading or threatening to dissuade is a misdemeanor with fines of up to $1,000 and/or up to 6 months in jail.

Garnishment – for willfully refusing to withhold general garnishments or misrepresenting employee’s income, liable for entire withholding amount and punitive damages up to $1,000 per pay period; wrongful termination for child support withholding, reinstatement and liability for payments not withheld plus fines of up to $1,000; upon employee victory in court, liability for minimum $2,500 plus legal costs and attorney’s fees; willful non-compliance or misrepresenting employee’s income, liable for entire support amount not paid and damages to obligee for punitive damages up to $1,000 per pay period

Whistleblower – public and private employees discriminated against may file complaint within 30 days of violation, only after notifying employer and division, employer may be liable for lost wages and benefits; public employees discriminated against may appeal to personnel department within 2 years of report, hearing officer may order employer to refrain from discrimination

In many cases, Nevada laws, legislators, and courts place stiff penalties on employers who discriminate against employees and terminate employment in violation of federal and state laws. In order to ensure that those penalties are imposed, employees should consult an experienced employee rights lawyer to advise them through the claims, mediation, and court processes to receive the legal remedies under U.S. and Nevada statutes.