It is important on both a legal and on an ethical level for
Managers and Human Resources Professionals to treat individuals in “Protected
Groups” in a non-discriminatory way.
That brings us to today’s topic of discussion, Title VII. Due to length, this will be a two-part
post. As always, please feel free to
provide your own thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.
EEO Laws - Title VII
(Part 1)
The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964. This act ended the enforcement of “separate
but equal” laws and made discrimination legal.
There are several titles under the act, covering areas such as voter
registration, school desegregation, and jury make-ups in civil rights
cases. Title VII looked specifically at
the laws regarding employment discrimination.
One of the earliest Equal Employment Opportunity laws, Title VII gave
protection to defined groups that may have been vulnerable to unfair selection
processes.
Protected Groups
So what are the Protected Groups? According to Title VII, these are race,
color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Later, other groups would be added through more recent EEO laws. Courts use the definition of race provided by
the Civil Rights Law of 1866, “any ethnic minority”. A 1971 Supreme Court case determined that the
definition of sex under Title VII could mean either male or female. In 1912, Cortezano v. Salin Bank & Trust
defined that Title VII covers ancestry but does not extend to citizenship
status. All of these protected groups
have been determined to be unfairly targeted and in need of special safeguards.
Safeguards
Under Title VII, Employers with over 15 workers must observe
and safeguard these Protected Groups.
Job Descriptions cannot discriminate.
The employer cannot refuse hire or terminate on the basis of an individual’s
status in those protected groups. Within
the company, employees cannot be segregated or barred membership from activities
based on status. Offerings such as
training should be provided fairly and not unfairly required. Title VII also extends to Unions, ensuring the
Labor Organizations are also unable to discriminate. Title VII also provides for fair
compensation, making it illegal to provide different levels of compensation for
a position based on an individual’s status.
Exemptions
There are a few parts of Title VII that do list
exemptions. Communists or those acting
as a front to Communist organizations are not protected. Religious organizations such as churches are
allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion. National Security can be an acceptable
defense for refusing to hire or terminate a person based on national origin.
In my next post, we will continue our discussion of Title
VII. You can expect that we will discuss
Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications and Disparate Impact. Please feel free to leave a comment.
And remember all of
you Human Resources professionals: Be
Human... Be a Resource... Be a Resource
for Humans.
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are by the author Trevor Stasik, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any employer or any other organization. Please note, this information is based on my understanding and is only to be used for informational and educational purposes. Do not take what I am writing as advice. Seek your own legal counsel and/or see a tax accountant before making business or personal decisions. The author of this post makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.
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