Major Civil Rights Statutes

Lincoln University Cooperative Eextension

Major Civil Rights Statutes

Title Six of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/coord/titlevi.htm

Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance.

Title Seven of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html

Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin by any employer with 15 or more employees; as amended in 1972 it applies to public and private educational institutions.

The Age Discrimination Act of 1967, as amended

http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/adea.html

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits employment discrimination against persons 40 years of age or older. The Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (Pub. L. 101-433) amends several sections of the ADEA.

Title Nine of the Education Amendments of 1972

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/coord/titleix.htm

Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. The principle objective of Title IX is to avoid the use of federal money to support sexually discriminatory practices in education programs such as sexual harassment and employment discrimination, and to provide individual citizens effective protection against those practices.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963, as amended

http://www.eeoc.gov/epa/

The Equal Pay Act (EPA) prohibits sex-based wage discrimination between men and women in the same establishment who are performing under similar working conditions.

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973

http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/rehab.html

Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination and requires employers with federal contracts or subcontracts that exceed $10,000 to take affirmative action to hire, retain, and promote qualified individuals with disabilities. All covered contractors and subcontractors must also include a specific equal opportunity clause in each of their nonexempt contracts and subcontracts.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991

http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/

Effective in 1992, this statute prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities and requires places of public services and accommodations to be usable and accessible. Employers with 25 or more workers are covered by the law as of July 26, 1992, and employers of 15 or more workers are covered beginning July 26, 1994. There are no affirmative action requirements under ADA.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991

http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/cra91.html

Allows for compensatory and punitive damages and jury trials when intentional employment discrimination can be shown with respect to one of the Title VII protected classes or with respect to protection offered by the Americans with Disabilities Act or the Rehabilitation Act.