Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws

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There are a number of federal laws that prohibit discrimination in the workplace. Most apply to select employers but a few apply to virtually all employers. The main laws that employers should be aware of are:

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
The Equal Pay Act
The Immigration and Reform and Control Act, and
The American with Disabilities Act.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e and following)

Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees on the basis of race or color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth and national origin (including membership in a Native American tribe). It also prohibits employers from retaliating against an applicant or employee who asserts his or her rights under the law. For example, an employer cannot fire someone for complaining about race discrimination.

Title VII's prohibition against discrimination applies to all terms, conditions and privileges of employment, including: hiring, firing, compensation, benefits, job assignments, shift assignments, promotions and discipline.

Title VII also prohibits employer practices that seem neutral but have a disproportionate impact on a protected group of people. A practice is only legal if the employer has a valid reason for using it. For example, height and weight requirements might be legal -- even though they exclude a lot of women and a lot of people of Asian descent -- if an employer is using them to fill, say, a job in the logging industry. They would not be valid for a desk job, however.

Title VII's Prohibition on Harassment

Title VII makes it illegal to harass someone because of the person's race or color, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth and national origin (including membership in a Native American tribe).

The most common type of harassment that is prohibited by Title VII is sexual harassment.

Discrimination Allowed by Title VII

In a very narrow exception, Title VII allows an employer to discriminate on the basis of religion, sex or national origin (but never race) if the characteristic is something intrinsic to the job. In legal terms, this exception is called a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) exception.

Employers Subject to Title VII

Title VII only applies to employers that fit into the following categories:

private employers with 15 or more employees
state governments and their political subdivisions and agencies
the federal government
employment agencies
labor organizations, and
joint labor-management committees and other training programs.

The Federal Enforcement Agency for Title VII

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Title VII. The EEOC has offices throughout the country. To find the office nearest you, log onto the EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov. This website is also an excellent source of information about Title VII and other fair employment laws.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634)

The ADEA prohibits discrimination against employees who are age 40 or older. It also prohibits employers from retaliating against an applicant or employee who asserts his or her rights under the ADEA. For example, an employer cannot demote someone for complaining about age discrimination.

The ADEA's prohibition against discrimination applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including: hiring, firing, compensation, job assignments, shift assignments, discipline and promotions.

Employers Subject to the ADEA

The ADEA does not apply to all employers. Most significantly, it does not apply to the state governments or their agencies. It also does not apply to private employers with fewer than 20 employees.

The ADEA does apply to the federal government and its agencies, private employers with 20 or more employees, interstate agencies, employment agencies and labor unions.

The Federal Enforcement Agency for the ADEA

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the ADEA. The EEOC has offices throughout the country. To find the office nearest you, log onto the EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov. This website is also an excellent source of information about the ADEA and other fair employment laws.

The Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. § 206(d))

The Equal Pay Act requires that employers give men and women equal pay for equal work.

Men and women do equal work when they perform, under similar working conditions, jobs that require equal skill, effort and responsibility. The actual job titles have no bearing on whether two jobs are equal. For example, the Equal Pay Act makes it unlawful for a hotel to pay its janitors, who are primarily men, more than it pays its housekeepers, who are primarily women, if they are doing essentially the same work.

Exceptions to the Equal Pay Act

An employer can pay a man and a woman different salaries for equal work if the difference is based on a seniority, merit or incentive system, or if the difference is based on factors other than gender.

For example, an employer can pay a male employee more than a female employee if the reason for the pay difference is that the male employee has been with the company for ten years, and the female employee has been with the company only one year. This is true even if the male employee and the female employee are working identical jobs.

Employers Subject to the Equal Pay Act

Practically speaking, all employers must comply with the Equal Pay Act. This includes virtually all private employers (regardless of the number of employees), the federal government and its agencies, the state governments and their agencies, public entities and labor unions.

The Federal Enforcement Agency for the Equal Pay Act

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the Equal Pay Act. The EEOC has offices throughout the country. To find the office nearest you, visit the EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov. This website is also an excellent source of information about the Equal Pay Act and other fair employment laws.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (8 U.S.C. § 1324)

The IRCA prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants or employees on the basis of their citizenship or national origin. The IRCA's prohibition against discrimination applies to all terms, conditions and privileges of employment, including: hiring, firing, compensation, benefits, job assignments, shift assignments, harassment, promotions and discipline.

The IRCA also makes it illegal for employers to knowingly hire or retain in employment people who are not authorized to work in the United States. Employers must keep records that verify that their employees are authorized to work in the United States.

Employers Subject to the IRCA

The IRCA only applies to employers with four or more employees.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213)

The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against a person with a disability in any aspect of employment, including applications, interviews, testing, hiring, job assignments, evaluations, disciplinary actions, training, promotion, medical exams, layoffs, firing, compensation, leave and benefits.

In addition, the ADA prohibits employers from refusing to hire someone or discriminating against someone because that person is related to or associates with someone with a disability. For example, an employer can't:

refuse to hire someone because that person's spouse, child or other dependent has a disability
refuse to hire someone because that person's spouse, child or other dependent has a disability that isn't covered by the company's health plan
refuse to hire someone because that person's spouse, child or other dependent has a disability that will increase health care costs, or
fire an employee because that employee has a roommate or a close friend who has AIDS or because that employee does volunteer work with people who have AIDS.

Employers Subject to the ADA

The ADA only applies to private employers with 15 or more employees, local governments and their agencies, employment agencies and labor unions. The ADA does not apply to the federal government and its agencies or state governments and their agencies.