The EEOC enforces several federal laws to include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – This law makes it illegal to discriminate against an applicant or employee on the basis of race*, color*, religion*, national origin*, or sex*. It is also unlawful to harass an applicant or employee because of his/her race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law forbids discrimination when it comes to any employment action, e.g., hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against an applicant or employee because he/she complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. It also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants and employees reliably held religious practices, unless doing so would impose undue hardship (significant expense or difficulty) on the operation of the employer’s business.
- Race and Color* – Race discrimination involves treating either an applicant or employee unfavorably because he/she is of a certain race or because of personal characteristics associated with race, such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features. Color discrimination involves treating either an applicant or employee unfavorably because of skin color complexion. Race/color discrimination also may involve treating someone unfavorably because the person is married to or associated with a person of a certain race or color. Discrimination occurs when the victim of the person who inflicted the discrimination are the same race or color.
- Religion* – Religious discrimination involves treating either an applicant or employee unfavorably because of his/her religious beliefs. The law protects not only those who belong to traditional, or organized religions, such as Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical, or moral beliefs. Religious discrimination may also involve treating someone differently because that person is married to or associated with an individual of a particular religion.
- National Origin* – Discrimination that involves treating either an applicant or employee unfavorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background, even if they are not. Discrimination may also involve treating people unfavorably because they are married to or associated with a person of a certain national origin and it may occur when the victim and the person who inflicted the discrimination are the same national origin.
- Sex* – Discrimination that involves treating either an applicant or employee unfavorably because of that person’s sex. Discrimination against an individual because of gender identity, including transgender status, or because of sexual orientation is discrimination because of sex in violation of Title VII. Harassment may include sexual harassment as it is unlawful to harass an applicant or employee because of that person’s sex. Harassment may include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Both the victim and the harasser may be either a man or a woman, and the victim and harasser may also be the same sex.
- The Pregnancy Discrimination Act – This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.
- Sections 102 and 103 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 – This law amends Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act to permit jury trials and compensatory and punitive damage awards in intentional discrimination cases.
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 – The law protects an applicant or employee who is 40 or older from discrimination due to age. It prohibits discrimination in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, benefits, and any other term or condition of employment. It is also unlawful to harass an applicant or employee because of his/her age. The laws also makes it illegal to retaliate against an applicant or employee because he/she complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
- Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 – This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified applicant or employee with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. Disability discrimination occurs when a covered employer or other organization treats an applicant or employee less favorably because he/she has a history of a disability (such as a past major depressive episode) or because he/she is believed to have a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor (even if he/she does not have such an impairment). It is also unlawful to harass an applicant or employee because of his/her disability. The law makes it illegal to retaliate against an applicant or employee because he/she complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified person with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship (significant expense or difficulty) on the operation of the employer’s business.
- Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 – This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the federal government. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against an applicant or employee because he/she complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship (significant expense or difficulty) on the operation of the employer’s business.
- The Equal Pay Act – The law makes it illegal to pay differing wages to men and women alike if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal determined by job content, not title. All forms of pay are covered by the law, e.g., salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit sharing, life insurance, vacation and holiday pay, cleaning and gasoline allowances, hotel accommodations, reimbursement for travel expenses, and benefits. Employers may not reduce the wages of either sex to equalize pay. Title VII also makes it illegal to discriminate based on sex in pay and benefits. Therefore, an applicant or employee who has an Equal Pay Act claim may also have a claim under Title VII. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against an applicant or employee because he/she complained about discrimination, files a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
- The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) -This law makes it illegal to discriminate against an applicant or employee because of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about a person’s genetic tests and the genetic tests of a person’s family members, as well as information about disease, disorder or condition of an individual’s family members, e.g., an individual’s family medical history. Family medical history is included in the definition of genetic information because it is often used to determine whether someone has an increased risk of getting a disease, disorder, or condition in the future. Genetic information also includes an individual’s request for, or receipt of, genetic services, or the participation in clinical research that includes genetic services by the individual or family member of the individual, and the genetic information of a fetus carried by an individual or by a pregnant woman who is a family member of the individual and the genetic information of any embryo legally held by the individual or family member using an assisted reproductive technology. Employers may never use genetic information to make an employment decision because genetic information is not relevant to an individual’s current ability to work. Under GINA, it is also illegal to harass a person because of his/her genetic information. It is also illegal to retaliate against an applicant or employee for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding such as an investigation or lawsuit, or otherwise opposing discrimination. Employers are also reminded to keep all genetic information confidential and in a separate medical file. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against an applicant or employee because he/she complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Employers are encouraged to understand the laws that are enforced by the EEOC and to not engage in unlawful activities related to those laws.
For additional information on the EEOC and to the laws that they govern, please contact us at www.newfocushr.com.
Written By: Kristen Deutsch, M.B.A., CCP
President
05/21/2021
Source: All of the information for this article was obtained from the EEOC website at www.eeoc.gov
