By Samaria Jones, HRTools.com Editor
Legal requirements resulting from the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) apply generally to businesses with a certain number of employees. But before employers and managers assume these laws don’t apply to their small businesses, they should become acquainted with the details of these Acts and recognize discriminatory practices.
? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) prohibits race,
color, religion, sex, and national origin discrimination. Title VII
applies to employers with fifteen (15) or more employees.
? Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
prohibits age discrimination against individuals who are forty (40)
years of age or older. The ADEA applies to employers with twenty
(20) or more employees.
? Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals
with disabilities. The ADA applies to employers with fifteen (15) or
more employees.
? Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) prohibits wage discrimination
between men and women who perform substantially equal work
within the same establishment. The EPA applies to most
employers with one or more employees.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), these laws prohibit employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age and disability, and prohibit retaliation for opposing job discrimination, filing a charge, or participating in proceedings under these laws. Many states and cities have also enacted laws protecting employees against discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, status as a parent, marital status and/or political affiliation.
How these laws may, or may not, apply to businesses can be a point of confusion. Do these laws apply to businesses with fewer than the number of applicable employees? Exactly who can be counted as an employee? The EEOC maintains that all employees, including part-time and temporary workers, are counted for purposes of determining whether an employer has a sufficient number of employees. The EEOC further defines an employee as, “someone with whom the employer has an employment relationship. The existence of an employment relationship is most easily shown by a person's appearance on the employer's payroll, but this alone does not necessarily answer the question. Independent contractors are not counted as employees. Determining whether a worker counts as an employee, and whether there are enough employees to be covered by these laws is, ultimately, a legal question.”
Employers and Managers Behaving Badly
Some behaviors can seem quite innocuous at first glance, but taking a closer look at interpersonal practices in the workplace can be quite revealing. A manager giving special perks, showing favoritism, or displaying all-out bias in the allowances made to one employee (or some) over another should be a cause for concern. Far too often societal prejudices are brought into the workplace where co-workers and employees are seen through different filters, and therefore treated differently. For example, the practice of paying male employees a higher salary for doing the same job as their female counterparts because, “he’s head of his household,” is not only prejudiced and outdated thinking, it’s against the law. Yet, these thoughts and behaviors are played out in any number of ways such as excluding women and “minorities” from strategic job assignments and/or meetings.
Members of an ethnically diverse workforce also often face uncomfortable inquisitions into areas of their lives as varied, and as personal, as their cultural and religious practices, to their manner of dress and hairstyles, no matter how professional.
It is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment, on the basis of a protected class, with regard to the following:
hiring and firing;
- compensation, assignment, or classification of employees;
- transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall;
- job advertisements;
- recruitment;
- testing;
- use of company facilities;
- training and apprenticeship programs;
- fringe benefits;
- pay, retirement plans, and disability leave; or
- other terms and conditions of employment.
The EEOC outlines discriminatory practices also under the laws, mentioned above, to include:
- harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin,
disability, or age;
- retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination,
participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices;
- employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about
the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex,
race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or individuals with disabilities; and
- denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage
to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion,
national origin, or an individual with a disability. Title VII also
prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or
places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or
religious group.
In addition to being aware of, and following, laws that protect employees’ rights themselves, employers must also post notices to all employees advising them of their rights under the laws the EEOC enforces and their right to be free from retaliation. Such notices must be accessible, as needed, to persons with visual or other disabilities that affect reading.
Legal Disclaimer
The information contained in this document is for general, informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. This information is not a substitute for the guidance of a professional and should not be relied upon in reference to any specific situation without first seeking the advice of a qualified HR professional and/or legal counsel regarding applicable federal, state or local laws. HRTools, Insperity and their respective employees make no warranties, express or implied, and make no judgments regarding the accuracy of this content and/or its applicability to a specific situation. A reference or link to another website is not an endorsement of that site or service.