Discrimination

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The area of discrimination law is vast and encompasses numerous volumes of text. To try and summarize this enormous focus of the law would be impossible and foolhardy. However, the following is a brief list of the more notable federal laws and a summary of their intended prohibitions:

  1. The Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C.A., Section 151 and the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C.A., Section 151 protect the rights of workers to organize, engage in collective bargaining, and use economic weapons, and prohibit discrimination because of membership or non-membership in a labor organization.
  2. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal employment discrimination law is a patchwork of statutes and one major executive order. Each statute prohibits specific forms of invidious discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C.A., Section 2000e, et seq., is, however, the centerpiece of employment discrimination law. It prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (which includes pregnancy) and national origin, and it reaches employers, labor organizations and employment agencies. This seminal law was extensively amended in 1972, 1978 and again in 1991.
  3. Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C.A., Section 621, et seq., prohibits age discrimination against individuals over age 40. Coverage is similar to Title VII (above), but the ADEA has distinct enforcement mechanisms and, unlike Title VII, allows the recovery of liquidated damages.
  4. The Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C.A., Section 706, 791-794; and The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.A., Section 12101, et seq., prohibits discrimination against individuals with physical or mental disabilities. Coverage of the Rehabilitation Act is limited to government employers, recipients of federal financial assistance and federal contractors. The ADA provides protection similar to the Rehabilitation Act but will cover all entities subject to Title VII.
  5. The Immigration Reform and Control Act, 8 U.S.C.A., Section 1324B, prohibits discrimination against American citizens and defined “intending citizens” and national original discrimination by employers not covered by Title VII.
  6. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C.A., Section 1981, prohibits race discrimination in the employment “contract.” Enacted immediately after the Civil War, this statute was designed to grant to newly freed slaves basic civil rights, such as the right to contract and the right to purchase, hold, and sell property. The portion of the Act now codified at 42 U.S.C.A., Section 1981 provides that “all persons…shall have the same right…to make and enforce contracts…as is enjoyed by white citizens…
  7. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C.A., Section 206, et seq., was enacted as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act, and imposes an obligation on employers to provide “equal pay” for men and women who perform “equal work” within an establishment unless the difference in pay is based on a seniority or merit system or on some “factor other than sex.”
  8. Executive Order 11246, 29 Fed.Reg 2477, requires employers with federal service and supply contracts and employers performing federally financed construction to undertake “affirmative action.” The affirmative action obligation, in addition to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, and national origin, which largely duplicates Title VII, imposes on contracting employers an additional obligation to undertake a “utilization analysis” to determine the extent to which qualified women and minorities are under-represented in the various job categories of the employer’s work force in proportion to their general availability in the relevant job market.

Please be assured that there are numerous other statutes and laws, both federal, state and local, which are relevant to act of discrimination, but which are simply too numerous and complex to address in this forum. If you believe that you have been the victim of discrimination under any of these laws, please contact our office to discuss the matter in further detail with experienced Discrimination Lawyer. Of course, there is no obligation or charge for doing so. You may contact our office via our online Consultation Request Form, E-Mail (note the warning regarding privacy and confidentiality), telephone or U.S. Mail.