Overview
Norway's principal anti-discrimination statute is the Likestillings- og diskrimineringsloven (Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act, LOV-2017-06-16-51), which entered into force on 1 January 2018. It replaced four separate acts from 2013:
- Likestillingsloven (Gender Equality Act)
- Diskrimineringsloven om etnisitet (Ethnicity Discrimination Act)
- Diskrimineringsloven om seksuell orientering (Sexual Orientation Discrimination Act)
- Diskriminerings- og tilgjengelighetsloven (Discrimination and Accessibility Act — the previous main disability law)
The act is supplemented by the Arbeidsmiljøloven (Working Environment Act), which contains specific provisions on working conditions, adaptation for employees with reduced work capacity, and dismissal protection.
The act was adopted on the basis of Prop. 81 L (2016–2017), submitted by the Ministry of Children and Equality, which set out the government's reasons for merging the four laws into one.
Protected Characteristic: Funksjonsnedsettelse
The act protects against discrimination on the ground of funksjonsnedsettelse (disability), alongside grounds such as gender, pregnancy, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and age (§ 6). The prohibition also covers discrimination based on an existing, assumed, past or future disability, and discrimination because of a person's association with someone else (for example a disabled family member).
The act does not contain a list of qualifying conditions. Physical, sensory, mental and cognitive impairments can all be relevant; what matters is whether a person has been treated less favourably, or put at a disadvantage, because of disability.
Scope of the Act
The act applies in all areas of society (§ 2) — including working life, education, goods and services, and public activities. Chapter 5 contains special rules for employment, covering the whole employment relationship from recruitment to termination.
The individual adaptation right for employees and job applicants (§ 22, below) contains no employer-size threshold.
Forms of Prohibited Discrimination
Direct Discrimination (§ 7)
A person is treated worse than others are, have been or would be treated in a comparable situation, because of a protected characteristic such as disability.
Indirect Discrimination (§ 8)
An apparently neutral provision, condition, practice, act or omission that puts people at a disadvantage compared with others because of a protected characteristic.
Lawful Differential Treatment (§ 9)
Differential treatment is not unlawful if it has a legitimate (saklig) aim, is necessary to achieve that aim, and is not disproportionately intrusive for those affected. In employment, direct differential treatment on the ground of disability is only permitted if the characteristic is of decisive importance for carrying out the work, and these conditions are also met.
Harassment (§ 13)
Acts, omissions or statements that have the purpose or effect of being offensive, frightening, hostile, degrading or humiliating, on the ground of a protected characteristic such as disability.
Instruction to Discriminate (§ 15)
It is prohibited to instruct anyone to discriminate, harass or retaliate.
Universal Design Obligations (§ 17 and § 18)
Section 17 imposes a duty of universal design on public and private enterprises directed at the general public. Universal design means designing or adapting the main solution for the physical conditions so that the enterprise's general functions can be used by as many people as possible, regardless of disability. The duty does not apply where it would impose a disproportionate burden.
Digital services (§ 18): Public and private enterprises have a duty of universal design of the main ICT solutions aimed at or made available to users. The details are set out in the Forskrift om universell utforming av IKT-løsninger (Regulation on universal design of ICT solutions). Private enterprises' web solutions must at minimum meet WCAG 2.0 levels A and AA (with some exceptions), while public bodies must meet the requirements of the European standard EN 301 549. Under § 36, compliance is supervised by the Digitaliseringsdirektoratet (Norwegian Digitalisation Agency), which can order corrections and impose coercive fines.
Physical premises: Physical accessibility standards for buildings are primarily addressed through the Plan- og bygningsloven (Planning and Building Act) and its technical building regulations.
Individual Adaptation Duty (§ 22 — Individuell Tilrettelegging)
Under section 22, employees and job applicants with disabilities have the right to suitable individual adaptation of the recruitment process, the workplace and their work tasks, so that they can obtain or keep work, have access to training and other skills development, and perform and progress in their work on an equal basis with others.
The right applies to adaptation that does not impose a disproportionate burden (uforholdsmessig byrde). In this assessment, particular weight is given to:
- The effect of the adaptation in removing barriers for persons with disabilities
- The costs of the adaptation
- The enterprise's resources
What adaptation can look like in practice — examples include:
- Modified working hours or schedule
- Remote working arrangements
- Ergonomic equipment or assistive technology
- Changes to role responsibilities or tasks
- Physical accessibility of the workspace
- Changes to procedures (e.g., absence management, assessment procedures)
NAV offers various forms of support for workplace adaptation, which can reduce the cost to the employer — it is worth checking what is available before concluding that an adaptation is too costly.
Enforcement
Likestillings- og diskrimineringsombudet (LDO)
The LDO (Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud) is a guidance body:
- Provides free legal guidance on the legislation to anyone who asks
- Since the 2018 reorganisation, it does not decide individual complaints — complaints are handled by the Diskrimineringsnemnda
- Can explain how to bring a complaint to the Diskrimineringsnemnda
- Website: ldo.no
Diskrimineringsnemnda
The Diskrimineringsnemnda (Anti-Discrimination Tribunal) decides individual cases on discrimination and harassment:
- Its proceedings are primarily written; parties who claim compensation (oppreisning) have a right to an oral hearing
- It can make decisions, including orders to stop discrimination, correct it and prevent repetition
- In employment cases it can award oppreisning (compensation for non-economic loss)
- Its decisions are final, but can be brought before the courts for full review
Burden of Proof (§ 37)
Discrimination is presumed to have occurred if there are circumstances giving reason to believe that discrimination has occurred, and the responsible party does not show that it has not. This applies, among other things, to the prohibitions in chapter 2 and to the individual adaptation rules. The shared burden of proof makes claims more accessible in practice.
Courts
Discrimination cases can also be brought before the ordinary courts. Under § 38, a person who has been treated in breach of the act can claim both oppreisning (compensation for non-economic loss) and erstatning (compensation for economic loss). In employment, the employer's liability applies regardless of fault.
Five Practical Employer Tips
- Act before a request: Proactively consider whether your recruitment processes, working conditions and physical environment are accessible, rather than only reacting when an employee raises a specific need.
- Document the dialogue: When an adaptation request is made, document the discussion, the options considered and the decision. Good documentation demonstrates good faith and helps if a complaint is made.
- Explore NAV support first: Before concluding that an adaptation is too costly, check what support NAV can provide.
- Do not assume permanent incapacity: An employee's current functional limitation may be temporary or variable. Avoid making employment decisions based on assumptions about future work capacity.
- Recruitment processes: Ensure that application forms, assessment tests, interview arrangements and selection criteria do not disadvantage candidates with disabilities. Offer to adjust assessment processes — the § 22 right covers the recruitment process too.
Sources
- Lovdata: Likestillings- og diskrimineringsloven (LOV-2017-06-16-51) — lovdata.no
- Lovdata: Diskrimineringsombudsloven (LOV-2017-06-16-50) — lovdata.no
- Lovdata: Forskrift om universell utforming av IKT-løsninger — lovdata.no
- LDO (Likestillings- og diskrimineringsombudet): ldo.no
- Stortinget: Prop. 81 L (2016–2017), case page — stortinget.no