A Presentation Of The Civil Rights Act Of 1964

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 resulted from one of the most controversial House and Senate debates in history. It was also the biggest piece of civil rights legislation ever passed. The bill actually evolved from previous civil rights bills in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. The bill passed through both houses finally on July 2, 1964 and was signed into law at 6:55 P.M. EST by President Lyndon Johnson. The act was originally drawn up in 1962 under President Kennedy before his assassination. The bill originated from two others, and one of which was the Equal Opportunity Act of 1962 that never went into law. This bill made up the core of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Bureau of National Affairs 18-20).

According to Bennett-Alexander & Hartman (2015), disparate impact is defined as “treating similarly situated employees differently because of prohibited Title VII or other employment discrimination law factors” (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015, p. 64). It can be considered to be intentional discrimination, on the basis that the employee or perspective job applicant can demonstrate a difference in treatment by the employer without appropriate justification (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015). If an employee or perspective job applicant decides to file a lawsuit, then under McDonnell Douglas case, the employer must set up a legal test to consider all relevant factors, if the questions were answered and there is still no suitable justification then the only factors left to consider are age, color, gender, religion, national origin, or other protected category (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2015).

President Lyndon B. Johnson and President John F. Kennedy made many notable advances to outlaw discrimination in America. They fought against discrimination on race, color, religion, and national origin. Although the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments outlawed slavery, provided for equal protection under the law, guaranteed citizenship, and protected the right to vote, individual states continued to allow unfair treatment of minorities and passed Jim Crow laws allowing segregation of public facilities. America would not be the country it is today without their effort to make this country better and of course without the help of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Disparate impact refers to policies, practices and rules that appear to be neutral and yet result in a disproportionate impact on protected groups on merits such as race or religion. Disparate treatment, on the other hand, is intentional. For example, deliberately testing one race and not any others for a particular skill is disparate treatment. Testing all applicants of all races and getting results from that test that eliminate one particular race disproportionately is disparate impact.

Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, segregation in the United States was commonly practiced in many of the Southern and Border States. This segregation while supposed to be separate but equal, was hardly that. Blacks in the South were discriminated against repeatedly while laws did nothing to protect their individual rights. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ridded the nation of this legal segregation and cleared a path towards equality and integration. The passage of this Act, while forever altering the relationship between blacks and whites, remains as one of history's greatest political battles.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was known as an end to racial segregation. It was brought about by a number of things including the effects of major events mostly involving riots. State and federal legislation needed it to be passed along with many social movements that influenced its decision. It is no question that it heavily changed America for the better by turning us into a melting pot and making us see that everyone should be treated as equals. It is important to remember that this act was not only beneficial to the time in which it was enacted, but it has affected our future by sustaining society. Today we continue to fight to outlaw discrimination within our nation, and thanks to the passing of this act we are able to be strong and help support the removal of unequal protection for all citizens. The general public has always deserved to be treated with the same rights that every White American is given. This act needed to be passed in order to see the harm we were causing by segregating people. America has grown so much since the act was established, and with it by our sides everyone can be able to have the rights they all truly deserve. Without this act in effect, the impacts on our country would be dire. We needed this act in order to flourish as one nation and continue to build movements against any discrimination.

Tracing back to the time period of the Triangular Trade, African-Americans were brought to America as slaves and were treated as the inferiors. Most of them were not granted for the basic human rights that they deserved. After the Civil Wars, the African- Americans were finally freed form the identity of slaves, but still treated unequally. During the 1950s and 1960s, the era of the Civil Rights Movement has occurred, which involved numerous movements that many of the Africans-Americans participated eagerly. Equal rights, educational opportunities, prohibit discriminations, and end of the segregations were the main focus of these movements. Civil Rights Act of 1964 was one of the most important acts that marked the end of the unequal application of voter registration requirement and racial segregation. The most significant events that led to the Civil Rights Act of

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was significant to African Americans because the act ended segregation in public places and ended employment prejudice based on the pigment of skin, national origin, gender, ethnicity, or/and religion. The Act was one of the most momentous events to impact African Americans on the account of bringing equality to minorities on paper and giving them opportunities to voice their political and community concerns. However, there were unforeseen consequences that added to the suffering of the community which they expressed through riots and protest marches in efforts to ensure their new protections were enforced. The advancement of the Act helped the African American civil rights group in their awareness and voice in government, made tremendous strides in their group, and contributed to other minorities to gaining equality. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 affected African Americans both positively and negatively through federalism, minority rights, and judicial review.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is considered by some to be one of the most important laws in American history. (The Most Important Cases, Speeches, Laws & Documents in American History) This Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2, 1964 and it is a “comprehensive federal statute aimed at reducing discrimination in public accommodations and employment situations.” (Feuerbach Twomey, 2010) Specifically, it aimed at prohibiting “discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy), and religion.” (Civil Rights Act of 1964, 2010) Additionally, it also

Disparate treatment is a worse offence than adverse impact because adverse impact is not necessarily intentional, and disparate treatment is intentional. Based on ethics, if a disparate treatment case is proven, it says very bad things about the employer, and depending on the case, it says the employer has been acting races, sexist, or engaging in a different form of discrimination. Adverse impact can have the same results as disparate treatment, but it does not mean the employer was discriminating on purpose. It is still bad, and the employer should not allow it to happen, but it is not quite as bad as disparate treatment if it is not intentional. Overall, both are very bad, and employers should do everything possible to avoid these kinds

Necessary and Proper Clause: This is a clause within the United States Constitution specifically in Article I Section 8. It grants Congress the power to create laws or take certain actions that are not explicitly seen in the Constitution and allows flexibility within Congress. The Necessary and Proper clause allows Congress to use enumerated powers that are implied within the text of the Constitution.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides protection’s for woman who are pregnant. A woman cannot be fired because she is temporarily unable to perform her job duties due to pregnancy. A public school will have to treat this teacher as if she were temporarily disabled. The Family and Medical Leave Act states that the school can require the teacher to take unpaid leave. The school also has the legal obligation to give this teachers job upon her return. This however is minimum requirement by law. School districts or individual contracts may have additional benefits allowed to woman in this situation. The Civil Rights Act and The Family Medical Leave Act are the “floor”. These Federal Statutes apply to what they say they apply too. So

Disparate treatment is a way to prove illegal employment discrimination. An employee who makes a disparate treatment claim alleges that he or she was treated differently than other employees who were similarly situated, and that the difference was based on a protected characteristic. Nolo (2016).

The Civil Rights act of 1964 along with Title VII gives employees the option to sue business owners based on color, race, sexual orientation, and religion. This act, rules on the fact, that individuals can take action if a discrimination or harassment issues happens at the employer’s workplace. It expands Civil Rights statues to provide more protection against people who are victimized due to discrimination. It sets the guidelines for job related issues due to disparate impact or treatment issues. However, this act does not assure that everyone who faces discrimination will be employed because frankly he is a minority. If it is felt that there is a possibility of

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws have helped shape the workforce today and they have greatly contributed to the introduction of diversity in the working environment. No longer are people rejected of employment based on their race, gender, age, or disability. The labor force has increased from 62 million people in 1950 to over 159 million people in the labor force today (Toolsi). The passing of the EEO laws proved to be a great advancement in the diversity of the workforce and treatment of employees, but it was a tremendous battle to get where we are today. Before the passing of these laws, unequal treatment was normal and discrimination was common among the majority of employers. This made acquiring employment difficult and caused many people to be unemployed. Three Equal Employment Opportunity laws that helped diminish these discriminatory practices were Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. For each law, I will describe what it enforces and explain the actions that happened in society and the workplace that made these laws necessary. I will discuss important political figures that contributed to the passing of these laws. Lastly, I will examine how each law has improved human resources and has led to better management of employees overall.