A Brief Note On The Civil Rights Act

This was just three years after Congress had voted down an amendment to Title VII to include age discrimination as an unlawful employment practice (www.eeoc.gov). In 1972, Title VII was amended to include the Equal Employment Opportunity Act which promises equal opportunities for all of mankind. The Rehabilitation Act was passed in 1973 which prohibits the Federal Government, as an employer, from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities. In 1976, in General Electric Co. v. Gilbert, the Supreme Court ruled that health insurance for employees providing sickness and accident benefits for any disability but those arising as a result of pregnancy did not constitute sex discrimination under Title VII (www.eeoc.gov).

Employers that base employment decisions, including hiring and promotion, on protected class characteristics are engaging in disparate treatment. When they do so overtly and argue that it is necessary to limit a particular type of employment to people with specific protected class characteristics, this type of disparate treatment is termed a facially discriminator policy or practice. An important, but limited, defense is available to employers that adopt facially discriminatory requirement is legal. If an employer can show that a particular protected class characteristic is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) for the job in question, the facially discriminatory requirement is legal. According to the Title VII of the Civil Right Act,

Federal (Title VII) and State legislation prohibit intentional discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and prohibit both “disparate treatment” and “disparate impact” discrimination.

Although great strides in fighting gender discrimination were taken in the 1970s, largely due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, abuses falling within the category of sexual harassment generally were not addressed. Finally, in 1980, the EEOC wrote and released guidelines that defined sexual harassment. They described it as one form of sex discrimination prohibited by the 1964 act. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 referred to as Title VII, prohibits employment discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin in addition to sexual harassment. The law specifically states;

The first law I will discuss is the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act 1964. This law is the most important anti-discrimination law. It was initially intended to end the discrimination in the workplace against African Americans which has been brought to national attention by the civil rights movement

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 prohibits all discrimination in employment based on race, gender, color, religious, or ethnic considerations. The Supreme Court wanted to modify the original Civil Rights Act of 1964 in response to Supreme Court decisions limiting the rights of employees who accused their employer of discriminating (Civil Rights Act of 1991 - Pub. L. 102-166). This act amended not only the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but also the Americans with Disabilities Act, of 1990, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Discrimination in the workplace is typified by failure to treat individuals equally due to biases against various group membership (Triana, Jayasinghe, & Pieper, 2015). The United States enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964, known as Title VII, to outlaw workplace discrimination of individuals with respect to compensation, terms, conditions of employment, or privileges of employment because of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. Following Title VII, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was established to enforce Title VII protocols in the public and private sector (Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007). Proceeding 1964, several addendums were legislated to include protection against discrimination for individuals with respect to: sexual orientation, age, disability, pregnancy, and genetic information (Brooks, Doughtery, & Price, 2015). The engagement of any employer in discrimination against members of any previously listed affiliations is not only deemed unethical, but is also considered unlawful in the United States.

All companies with greater than 15 employees in the United States must adhere to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This act prohibits discrimination in employment-related matters and is administered by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (Canas & Sonkak, 2014). In Calibuso et al. v. Bank of America Corp. et al. Judy Calibuso filed a complaint against Bank of America with the EEOC in January 2007.

Laws against discrimination- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 says that no person employed or seeking employment by a business with more than 15 employees may be discriminated against due to their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (Lee, 1998). This Act

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 guarantees protection from workplace discrimination for individuals of all ages, sexes, disabilities, genetic information, colors, races, religions, and national origins; however, policy differs by state. Thirteen of fifty states have no protection, while only nine out of fifty have advanced policies. According to The Huffington Post, “Alabama doesn’t have any workplace protection laws” (HuffPost Partner Studio).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (2009).

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that it is unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire, discharge or discriminate against an individual because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Under Title VII sex discrimination is not unlawful if BFOQ can be proven as necessary for that position.

Throughout the years the United States has faced many challenges with equal employment opportunities for everyone. The United States has developed The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, also known as the EEOC, to enforce laws that help prevent everyone from being treated unfairly when it comes to employment options. The EEOC has established stipulations and overlooks all of the federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices and policies (“Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions and Answers”). Some laws that have been passed are the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Although some discrimination is still a problem, all of these

2.1 Identify the main principles of discrimination law in recruitment and selection and in employment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in many more aspects of the employment relationship. It applies to most employers engaged in interstate commerce with more than 15 employees, labor organizations, and employment agencies. The Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Sex includes pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. It makes it illegal for employers to discriminate in hiring, discharging, compensation, or terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. Employment agencies may not discriminate when hiring or referring applicants. Labor Organizations are also prohibited from basing membership or union classifications on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (law.cornell.edu, 2006)