Nebraska salary history ban: no state law, the 48-201 wage history consent rule, and an equal pay act that reaches agents

Nebraska has no law that bars employers from asking job candidates about their salary history, as of November 2026, and we found no bill in the 109th Legislature's 2025 or 2026 sessions that would add one. Nebraska law instead gives pay history a lawful path: section 48-201 lets a current or former employer disclose a worker's "pay rate and wage history" to a prospective employer with the worker's written consent. The limits come from equal pay law. Nebraska's own act covers employers with two or more employees, names their agents, and forbids anyone to "cause or attempt to cause" a violation, and federal courts in the Eighth Circuit look hard at any defense built on prior salary.

Is it illegal to ask about salary history in Nebraska?

No. Chapter 48 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes, the labor chapter, has no rule on pay history questions, and a keyword search of the Legislature's 2025 and 2026 bills in November 2026 found no salary history bill. Private and public employers may ask; a candidate may decline, and no Nebraska statute protects a candidate who does. The state's other hiring rules are in hiring employees in Nebraska and Nebraska background check laws.

How does section 48-201 let wage history be shared?

Section 48-201, added by LB 959 in 2012, is a reference-immunity law. It says a current or former employer "may disclose the following information about a current or former employee's employment history to a prospective employer of the current or former employee upon receipt of written consent," and item (ii) on the list is "Pay rate and wage history on the date of receipt of written consent." The other items include dates of employment, duties, the most recent written evaluation, attendance, recent drug or alcohol test results, workplace threats, the reasons for separation and rehire eligibility.

The consent has to meet specific rules:

• It must be "on a separate form from the application form or, if included in the application form, shall be in bold letters and in larger typeface than the largest typeface in the text of the application form."
• It must be signed and dated by the applicant, with wording similar to the statute's sample: "I, (applicant), hereby give consent to any and all prior employers of mine to provide information with regard to my employment with prior employers to (prospective employer)."
• It "will be valid for no longer than six months."

An employer that discloses under the section is presumed to act in good faith and is immune unless what it disclosed was false and it knew so or acted with malice or reckless disregard. The section "does not require any prospective employer to request employment history," and the immunity does not apply when an employer discriminates or retaliates against someone for exercising a statutory right. It also applies to agents and representatives who provide information for the former employer.

So in Nebraska a reference can lawfully hand you a candidate's pay history, with the candidate's signature on the consent. Whether you should use it is the next question.

What does Nebraska's equal pay act require?

Section 48-1221(1) bars paying an employee less than an employee of the opposite sex in the same establishment "for equal work on jobs which require equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions." Differences are allowed under "an established seniority system," "a merit increase system," or "a system which measures earning by quantity or quality of production or any factor other than sex." The details that matter to recruiters:

The four-year limit is longer than the federal Equal Pay Act's two years, three if willful (29 U.S.C. 255(a)), so an offer priced off a biased old salary stays open to challenge for a long time. And the "agent" and "cause or attempt to cause" language means an agency that pushes a client toward a lower offer because of a candidate's old pay is not a bystander.

Two more Nebraska statutes apply to larger employers. The Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act, section 48-1104, bars discrimination "with respect to compensation" on several grounds including sex, for employers with 15 or more employees (48-1102). And section 48-1114(1)(d) makes it an unlawful practice to discriminate against employees or applicants because they "inquired about, discussed, or disclosed information regarding employee wages, benefits, or other compensation," with exceptions for people whose jobs give them access to others' pay.

How does the Eighth Circuit treat prior salary?

Nebraska is in the Eighth Circuit. In Drum v. Leeson Electric Corp., No. 08-1678, filed May 15, 2009, the court restated its rule from Taylor v. White (2003): "When prior salary is asserted as a defense to a claim of unequal pay, this court carefully examines the record to ensure that an employer does not rely on the prohibited 'market force theory' to justify lower wages for female employees simply because the market might bear such wages." The employer there explained a female manager's lower pay with her prior salaries; the court found disputed facts and reversed the summary judgment the employer had won.

The EEOC's Compliance Manual section on compensation discrimination, still on eeoc.gov as of November 2026, says "Prior salary cannot, by itself, justify a compensation disparity." Title VII, at 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(a), applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

Do Omaha or other Nebraska cities ban salary history questions?

We found none that does. In November 2026 we searched the Omaha, Grand Island and Kearney codes on Municode, and the Nebraska codes on American Legal, for "salary history," "wage history," "pay history," "prior salary" and "compensation history." The only hit, in a small town's code, mirrors section 48-201's disclosure-with-consent rule rather than restricting questions. We did not review Lincoln's municipal code, which the city publishes itself; if your client is the City of Lincoln or another public employer, ask for its current application.

Which neighboring rules reach Nebraska recruiters?

Western Nebraska desks that recruit into the Front Range meet Colorado's rule constantly, and an Omaha employer hiring a remote analyst in Denver is covered by it. Remote postings raise the matching pay range question; see pay transparency for remote jobs.

Should a Nebraska recruiter ask about current pay?

If your application packet includes a 48-201 consent, check what your reference script actually asks; the candidate reference call script leaves pay out. Agency licensing and other rules are in Nebraska staffing agency licensing and E-Verify requirements in Nebraska.

A Nebraska script

Opening the pay topic

"This role pays $58,000 to $66,000 plus benefits (example figures). What would you need to make a move?" More wording is in salary expectation questions.

When the client wants the reference to confirm current pay

"Nebraska lets her former employer share it with her consent, but if her offer lands below a man's in the same job, that number won't settle it. Let's set the offer from the range and her experience and note why."

When the candidate volunteers current pay

"Thanks. We set pay from the role, so the useful number is what you're looking for." Record the expectation only; see what not to write in interview notes.

Nebraska summary

Nebraska checklist

1. Decide as a policy not to ask about current or past pay, even though Nebraska allows it.
2. If you collect 48-201 consents, keep pay off your reference questions.
3. Share the range and ask for expectations.
4. Record the job-related reasons for each offer; a pay claim can come up to four years later.
5. Check the state or city where a remote hire will work, starting with Colorado and Kansas City, against our salary history ban states list.