What is the Equal employment Opportunity Act

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 is the act which gives the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) authority to sue in federal courts when it finds reasonable cause to believe that there has been employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In the case of public employment, the EEOC refers the matter to the United States Attorney General to bring the lawsuit.

Table of Contents Show

CIVIL RIGHTS
ASSISTED PROGRAMS
CONDUCTED PROGRAMS

The Act prohibits employment discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, and marital or familial status. Added as an amendment to Title VII , it expands the protection of Title VII to public and private employers with 15 or more employees, both public and private labor organizations with at least 15 members, and employment agencies.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 is a United States federal law which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (the "1964 Act") to address employment discrimination against African Americans and other minorities. Specifically, it empowered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to take enforcement action against individuals, employers, and labor unions which violated the employment provisions of the 1964 Act, and expanded the jurisdiction of the commission as well.[1][2] It also required employers to make reasonable accommodation for the religious practices of employees.[3]

Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972Long titleAn act to further promote equal employment opportunities for American workersEnacted bythe 92nd United States CongressCitationsPublic lawPub.L. 92–261Statutes at Large86 Stat. 103CodificationU.S.C. sections amended

42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e–2000e-8
5 U.S.C. § 5108

Legislative history

Introduced in the House as H.R. 1746 by Augustus Hawkins (D–CA)
Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on March 24, 1972

United States Supreme Court cases

Morton v. Mancari, 417 U.S. 535 (1974)

The employment provisions of the 1964 Act only applied to firms with 25 or more employees; the 1972 Act extended that to firms with 15 or more employees.[4] The version of the bill reported out of the House Committee on Education and Labor would have decreased the threshold to eight employees; however, some senators, including Norris Cotton (R-NH), Paul Fannin (R-AZ), and John C. Stennis (D-MS), expressed concern for the impact on small businesses.[5] (During the debate on the initial version of Title VII in 1964, Cotton in particular had proposed increasing the threshold to 100 employees).[6] Despite support for the eight-employee threshold from other senators such as Jacob Javits (R-NY), the Senate amended the threshold to fifteen, and the House subsequently agreed in conference.[7] The fifteen-employee threshold remains in place as of 2020.[8]

A 1998 study based on Current Population Survey data found that there were "large shifts in the employment and pay practices of the industries most affected" by the 1972 Act, and concluded that it had "a positive impact" on African Americans' labor market status.[4] With regards to government employment, a 1978 study found that the act had little impact on employment of African Americans in the higher levels of the federal civil service.[9]

^ Rivers, Richard R. (1973). "In America, What You Do Is What You Are: The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972". Catholic University Law Review. 22 (2): 455. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
^ Sape, George P.; Hart, Thomas J. (July 1972). "Title VII Reconsidered: The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972". Geo. Wash. L. Rev. 40 (5): 824. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
^ Brodin, Mark L. (1987). "Costs, Profits, and Equal Employment Opportunity". Notre Dame Law Review. 62: 318, 333. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
^ a b Chay, Kenneth Y. (July 1998). "The Impact of Federal Civil Rights Policy on Black Economic Progress: Evidence from the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972". ILR Review. 51 (4): 608–632. doi:10.1177/001979399805100404. JSTOR 2525011. S2CID 156039791.
^ Aston, Adam W. (January 2004). "'Fair and Full Employment': Forty Years of Unfulfilled Promises". Washington University Journal of Law & Policy. 15: 285, 302–304. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
^ Aston 2004, p. 296.
^ Aston 2004, p. 305.
^ Aston 2004, p. 286, and the definition of "employer" (cited there), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b).
^ Rose, Winfield H.; Chia, Tiang Ping (May 1978). "The Impact of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 on Black Employment in the Federal Service: A Preliminary Analysis". Public Administration Review. 38 (3): 245. doi:10.2307/975677. JSTOR 975677.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Public Law 92-261

Lewinsohn, Thomas F. (1974). "Equal Employment Opportunity Through Affirmative Action". The American Review of Public Administration. 8 (1): 71. doi:10.1177/027507407400800111. S2CID 153774471.
Richard Nixon's signing statement about the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, from the American Presidency Project

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TITLE VII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 (TITLE VII)
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.

THE PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION ACT
This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

THE EQUAL PAY ACT OF 1963 (EPA)
This law makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

THE AGE DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 1967 (ADEA)
This law protects people who are 40 or older from discrimination because of age. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

SECTIONS 501 AND 505 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the federal government. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.

SECTION 508 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973,AS AMENDED (29 U.S.C. § 794d)
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 508) requires all electronic and information technology (also referred to as information and communication technology or ICT) that is developed, procured, maintained, or used by a federal agency to be accessible to people with disabilities. Examples of ICT include web sites, telephones, multimedia devices, and copiers. Access available to individuals with disabilities must be comparable to access available to others. Standards for Section 508 compliance are developed and maintained by the United States Access Board. Further information about the Access Board's standards and Section 508 generally may be found at www.section508.gov.

THE GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION ACT OF 2008 (GINA)
Effective - November 21, 2009.
This law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members (i.e. an individual's family medical history). The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

CIVIL RIGHTS

EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT
Enacted on October 28, 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, on the basis of: Race, Color, Religion, National Origin, Sex, Marital Status, Age, Income Derived from Public Assistance, or having exercised their rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973
Prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified individuals on the basis of disability in Federally assisted or conducted programs.

AGE DISCRIMINATION ACT OF 1975
Prohibits discrimination against individuals in a Federally Assisted Program based on age.

TITLE VIII OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1968 (Fair Housing Act, as amended 1988)
Prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing based on: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Status or Disability

ASSISTED PROGRAMS

7 CFR §15a and Subparts A-F
Prohibits discrimination in Education Programs or Activities Receiving or Benefitting from Federal Financial Assistance

TITLE VI OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964
Prohibits discrimination in a Federally Assisted Programs based on: Race, Color or National Origin.

TITLE IX OF THE EDUCATION AMENDMENTS OF 1972
Title IX promises equal access to education for all students and it protects them against discrimination on the basis of sex.

Title IX was enacted to ensure: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

If you believe your school, college, or university has violated Title IX, you may file a complaint with the university or with the Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. Information on program complaint filing may be found at … https://www.usda.gov/oascr/filing-program-discrimination-complaint-usda-customer. Technical assistance inquiries, including questions regarding compliance with Title IX, may be submitted to: SM.OASCR.gov.

CONDUCTED PROGRAMS

7 CFR §15d.3
No agency, officer, or employee of the USDA shall, on the grounds of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or gender identity, exclude from participation in, deny the benefits of, or subject to discrimination any person in the United States under any program or activity conducted by the USDA.

7 C.F.R. §15d.3(b)
No person shall be subjected to reprisal for opposing any practice(s) prohibited by this part; for participating in a proceeding under this part, for opposing unlawful discrimination, for filing a discrimination complaint, or participating in another's discrimination complaint. Any action that may deter a reasonable person from participating in protected activity and creating a chilling effect is actionable.