Matthew Purushotham
Mon, 07/03/2023
Sixty-nine years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law. Proposed a year earlier by President John F. Kennedy, the Act prohibits discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels, provided for the integration of schools, libraries, swimming pools, and other public facilities, and made certain forms of discrimination in employment illegal. The Civil Rights Act’s employment protections are set forth in Title VII of the Act.
Through Title VII, the federal government created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to enforce the Act’s prohibitions on discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex (a category which now includes pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), and national origin. The EEOC’s enforcement responsibilities have also grown to cover the provisions of other laws prohibiting discrimination based on disability and age, as well as the Equal Pay Act, which was passed the year before the CRA. Outside the federal sector, all charges of discrimination under Title VII begin with the filing of a charge with the EEOC; federal employees initiate Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) complaints with EEO counselors.
Some claims under Title VII can be based on discrete actions taken by an employer, such as failure to hire or promote an individual on the basis of prohibited discrimination. However, the law also recognizes harassment and hostile work environment claims based on situations where harassing conduct becomes a condition of continued employment, or where the conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive. In either harassment or hostile work environment cases, the conduct must be based on a protected trait.
Title VII also makes it illegal to retaliate against employees because they: complained about discrimination informally or formally, filed a charge of discrimination with an agency like the EEOC, or participated as a witness in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. More recently, the Civil Rights Act of 1991 strengthened Title VII’s protections by allowing employees to request jury trials in Title VII cases and allowing them to seek compensatory and punitive damages in intentional employment discrimination cases.
MSE has represented workers in cases involving race, sex, national origin, disability, and other forms of discrimination. If you believe that your employer has discriminated against you on the basis of any protected trait, contact MSE at info@mselaborlaw.com.
