Discrimination in any issue related to employment is illegal. Employers must take careful measures to assure that decisions they make in any aspect of employment are legal, ethical, and supported by documentation of the facts and qualifications. Employment discrimination laws are clear that employment discrimination is unacceptable and illegal.
These Federal laws prohibit employment discrimination. Additional Federal laws may exist that address employment discrimination, so do not consider this list comprehensive. Additionally, states have employment discrimination laws about a variety of discrimination issues. When you consider employment discrimination laws, the more stringent standard, either state or Federal, is generally applied in employment discrimination lawsuits.
- Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) protects men and women who perform equal work from wage discrimination based on sex.
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
- Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects people who are age 40 and older from employment discrimination based on age.
- Rehabilitation Act of 1973 bans discrimination against qualified people with disabilities who work in the federal government.
- Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (ADA) makes it unlawful for an employer with 15 or more employees to discriminate against a qualified individual with a disability. (Individual states may include employers with fewer employees.)
- Civil Rights Act of 1991 provides monetary damages in cases where an employer has practiced intentional employment discrimination.
- Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) disallows employment discrimination based on genetic information about an applicant, employee, or former employee.
- Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to state that the 180-day statute of limitations for filing a pay discrimination lawsuit starts over with each new discriminatory paycheck.
These are the primary Federal requirements in employment discrimination laws.
