Laws Prohibiting Discrimination

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978
Sexual Harassment - Section 703 (Title VII as amended in 1980)
Civil Rights Act of 1991

Executive Order 11246
Rehab Act of 1973
Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act
Executive Order 11141

Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Family and Medical Leave Act (1993)

TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
Makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer:

1. to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, term, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or
2. to limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

Amended by Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, amended by Section 703 to include sexual harassment in 1980 and amended to allow jury trials by the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

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EXECUTIVE ORDER 11246 (1965)
Requires that organizations with 50 or more employees and aggregate contracts of $50,000 or more with the federal government take affirmative action to hire and retain minorities and females in proportion to the percentage of minorities and females in the area in which the organization is located and from which it draws its employees. Requires submission of an annual Affirmative Action plan outlining goals and timetables for achieving proportionate utilization of minorities and females. Extended to disabilities by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to veteran's status by the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act, to age by Executive Order 11141.

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AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967
Prohibits discrimination against applicants and employees 40 years of age and older. Prohibits an employer from: (1) failing or refusing to hire or discharge any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual's age; (2) limiting, segregating, or classifying employees in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect status as an employee, because of such individual's age; or (3) reducing the wage rate of any employee in order to comply with the Act.

Extended specifically to employment benefits by the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (1990).

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TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972
(Amending the Higher Education Act of 1965)
Prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex by any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.

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AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (1990)
Prohibits discrimination against and requires reasonable accommodation of applicants and employees with physical or mental impairments (or a record or perception of such) which substantially limit one or more major life activities and who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job.

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EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963
Requires that male and female employees be paid the same for equal work on jobs requiring equal skill, effort and responsibility performed under similar working conditions.

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FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA) (1993)
Requires provision of up to a total of 12 weeks per year of job protected leave to eligible employees to care for the employee's child after birth, adoption or foster care; to care for employee's spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition; or for the employee's serious health condition which prevents employee from performing his or her job. To be eligible, employee must have been employed for at least one year, must have worked 1250 hours in the previous 12 months and must provide 30 days notice under most conditions.

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