Civil Rights Act
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "bans discrimination,including sex-based discrimination, by trade unions, schools, or employersthat are involved in interstate commerce or that do business with the The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in a broad arrayof private conduct including public accommodations, governmental servicesand education. One section of the Act, referred to as Title VII, prohibitsemployment discrimination based on race, sex, color, religion and nationalorigin (Milestones 2). The Act prohibits discrimination against theaforementioned protected classes in the areas of recruitment, hiring,wages, assignment, promotions, benefits, discipline, discharge, layoffs andalmost every aspect of employment (Milestones No Date). Title VII also created the U.S. Equal Employment OpportunityCommission (EEOC), a five-member, bipartisan group. The Commissioners, nomore than three of whom may be from the same political party, are appointedto five-year terms by the President after the Senate's confirmation(Milestones 2). The Chair of the Agency appoints its General Counsel. EEOC
The EEOC began to formulate guidance to givemeaning to Title VII's broad prohibitions against discrimination(Milestones 3). Also, in 1940, the Ramspeck Act provided a ban ondiscrimination in the Federal Service based on race, color or creed(Milestones 1). In 1940, Executive Order 8587, issued by President Roosevelt, stated theprinciple that public employment could not be denied by reason of race,creed or color. In 1961, the Equal Pay Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act outlawingdiscrimination in wages based on sex. Remedies available to asuccessful complainant include reinstatement and back pay. On July 2, Title VII became "the law of the land" and EEOC opened forbusiness with a budget of over $2 million and about 100 employees, many ofthem who were obtained from other federal agencies. (Milestones 3)Coverage Under Title VII Employers under Title VII's jurisdiction include trade unions,schools, or employers that are involved in interstate commerce or that dobusiness with the federal government (Britannica 1). The Senate debated the bill for534 hours, the longest debate in its nearly 180 year history, partly debateand partly filibuster (Milestones 2). In 1964, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act was passed (Historical nodate). Fried points out that in one case the Supreme Court acknowledged thatemployers who can demonstrate that they have made good faith efforts toprevent discrimination in the workplace are entitled to protection frompunitive damages (2). EEOC officials initially noted that there was virtually no legislativehistory explaining Congress's intent in outlawing sex discrimination. However, private individuals may file actions in courtand EEOC can recommend to the Department of Justice that it bring patternand practice lawsuits. Lawsuit Prevention Declaring, "Preventing harassment is more important than ever", Ross &Eigen urges employers in every state to take the following proactive stepstocomply with the law and insulate themselves from liability: * creating and implementing appropriate policies, procedures, and training to prevent and educate supervisors and employees on harassment based on all legally protected categories; * carefully reviewing existing handbooks and harassment/discrimination policies to make sure that they are clear and comprehensive; * strongly consider training supervisors and employees on unlawful harassment to make sure that everyone understands what is considered unlawful and how to react if they think harassment occurs; * more critical that mid- and low-level managers and supervisors are properly educated on what they must and must not do (Ross & Eigen 1). Conclusion Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a major law that wasenacted amid lengthy debate and amendment in Congress. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was enacted which coveredminimum wage, overtime compensation, child labor protections, and otherprovisions of employment (but did not cover Federal employees as enacted).
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