WGU D432 COMBINED SET EXAM Civil Rights Act of 1964 - ANSWER The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark piece of civil rig hts legislation that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender or national origin with regard to a wide range of matters. The CRA of 1964 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 290 -130. It passed the Senate in June 1 964 by a vote of 73 -27 and was then signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964. First page of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 First page of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 Below are the various sections of the Act: Title I: Prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements. Title II: Prohibits discrimination in hotels, motels, restaurants, theaters, and all other public accommodations engaged in or effecting interstate commerce. Title III: Prohibits discrimination by state and local governments with regard to access to public facilities. Title IV: Desegregation of public schools. Title V: Expanded the Civil Rights Commission that was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 with additional powers, rules and procedures. Title VI: Prevents discrimination by government agencies that receive federal funds. Title VII: Prohibits discrimination by covered employers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. (More on this in the rest of this module). Title V III: Required the compilation of voter -registration and voting data in geographic areas (i.e., the south) specified by the Commission on Civil Rights. Title IX: Made it easier to move civil rights cases from state courts to federal court. Title VII - ANSWER Title VII applies to all companies that employ 15 or more employees. Title VII: (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer — to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individ ual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; or to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way w hich would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. 42 USC §2000e -2 Later Amendments to Titl e VII: Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972: Expanded protection to government employees, and the EEOC was given greater powers to enforce Title VII by permitting it to commence lawsuits itself, rather than have to refer cases to the DOJ. Pregnancy Dis crimination Act of 1978: Added discrimination on the basis of pregnancy as a type of gender discrimination. Civil Rights Act of 1991: Permits jury trials for plaintiffs seeking compensatory (including emotional distress) and punitive damages, allows plaint iffs to recover attorney fees, limits the ability of white employees to bring "reverse discrimination" suits and codified the disparate impact theory invented by the US Supreme Court in Griggs v. Duke Power Co., (US, 1971). EEOC issued a regulation in 2012 that added transgender as a type of gender discrimination, although no US Court of Appeals has agreed with this. Example Case: With regard to limiting the ability of white employees to bring "reverse discrimination" suits, in 1974, the Jefferson Cou nty, Alabama Personnel Board signed a consent decree that Title VII: What is Prohibited? - ANSWER Title VII prohibits discrimination by an employer with regard to: Hiring & Firing Promotion Training Discipline Compensation and Benefits Classification Other terms or conditions of employment Note: ANY adverse decision by an employer can be challenged by an employee or applicant if the decision was based, in any part, on the employee's protected category. Title VII: Who Must Comply? - ANSWER Title VII ap plies to: All private employers with 15 or more employees (for each work day in each of the 20 preceding weeks) Unions Joint labor and management committees making admission, referral, training, and other decisions Employment agencies Federal, state, and l ocal governments Title V11: Who is Covered? - ANSWER Title VII covers all public sector (government) and private sector (non -government) employees (not independent contractors) and applicants who are members of a protected class, all levels of employees ( i.e., supervisors, managers, executives, etc.), as well as US citizens employed by US employers located outside the US. This includes US Permanent resident "employees" employed in the US. Does Title VII apply to illegal aliens? US Supreme Court said no, b ut EEOC says yes. US Supreme Court denied back pay to an illegal alien in Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB (US, 2002). In response, EEOC says it will no longer ask what the employee's status is when it handles their discrimination claim. Who is NO T Covered? Employees of private employers with fewer than 15 employees. Non-U.S. citizens employed outside the United States. Religious institutions with regard to their religious activities ("ministerial exception"). (i.e., a Jewish rabbi could not sue fo r not being hired to be a priest in a Catholic church)