Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Law Employment Essay

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

In United Stated of America employment discrimination laws consist of federal and state statutes. US constitutional amendments also prohibit the employment discrimination and provide equal protection of law. In the employment perspective, the right of equal protection bounds the power of the state and federal governments to discriminate in their employment performs and to treat employees, former employees, or job applicants in the same manner. Due process protection entails that employees receive a fair process in case of their termination. The Civil Rights act of 1964 protects employees in the United States of America from workplace discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, color, religion, gender or sex. The Civil Rights act 1964 Title VII give the establishment of the concept of Equal Opportunity in Employment which must be standardized on a national level. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) protects men and women who perform equal work in the same institution from sex-based wage discrimination. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act enacted in 1968 and amended in 1986 is a federal act which bars age discrimination in the workplace. It signifies that under this act, it is a violation of national law to hire, fire, or maltreat or ill-treat an employee on the basis of his or her age.  The Age Discrimination in Employment Act is a federal law which may give restrictions under state employment laws as well. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 disallows employment discrimination on the basis of disability and its section 504 entails reasonable accommodation to the disabled employee and Section 508 requires that electronic and information technology be accessible to that particular disabled employee. Moreover any disable employee would not be barred from promotion, trainings and job assignments on the basis of his or her disability.

The United States of America Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is working in US as a federal agency to look after the employment discriminations and to hear the claims or grievances of the affected people who face discrimination on any of the ground in their employment or in their workplace. The commission along with other aforesaid laws also enforces Civil Rights Act of 1991 which made significant modifications in the federal laws against employment discrimination. The act is enacted to reverse numerous Supreme Court decisions that limited the rights of persons protected by these laws. Moreover the Act also provides additional protections in the matter of employment discrimination. The Act permits compensatory and punitive damages in instance of deliberate and intentional discrimination, and also gives opportunity for obtaining attorneys' fees and the possibility of jury trials. It also points the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enhance its technical support and assistance outreach activities.

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) section 188 prohibits the discrimination against applicants of job, employees already at job and participants in workforce investment i.e. financially assisted programs and activities on the basis of age. In addition, workforce investment act outlaws discrimination on the grounds of color, race, religion, national origin, gender, disability, political affiliation, and for beneficiaries only, citizenship or participation involved in workforce investment.

The United States Department of Labor enforces the Fair Labor Standards Act which fixes the basic minimum wage and overtime salary standards for the workers. Current minimum wage fixed by this department is $ 7.25 per hour and overtime pay requires that it should not be less than one and one-half times regular rate of salary. The Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act determines overtime standards for most federal service contracts, federally funded construction contracts, and federal supply contracts that are over $100,000. The Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act requires payment of minimum wage rates and overtime salary on federal contracts to provide benefits to the federal government. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) offers for 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain medical and family situations for instance adoption or maternal leaves for either the employee or a member of the worthy employee's close family. However, in many cases the paid leave may be a better alternative for unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act’s leave.

The following instances signify that the employment discrimination still exists in United States. In 1983, the General Motors Corporation was sued for gender and racial discriminations. In 1993, the Shoney International was alleged of racial prejudice in tenure, promotion and layoff policies; wage discrimination and antagonistic work environment and consequently the sufferers were granted $105 million. In 1996, the plaintiffs of the Pitney Bowes, Inc. case were settled at $11.1 million due to discrimination in employment. Such cases signify the existence of discrimination in employment. (Source: New York Times 1993 and Los Angeles Times 1996)

Discrimination comprises three types of penalties: fines, litigation costs and bad publicity. Fines are levied by federal or state agencies upon the investigation and detection of discriminatory practices in the workplace. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) and Wage and Hour Division (WHD) have authority by the Congress to impose fines and penalties, and validate settlements on behalf of employees where there is clear indication that discrimination has certainly occurred. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission follows Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other laws that prohibit discrimination in employment. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs focuses on affirmative action requirements.

A Report from the Center for American Progress estimates workplace discrimination against employees on the ground of race and gender or sex costs businesses an estimated $64 billion annually. According to the Report the businesses suffer costs in USA in a variety of ways, including the turnover of about 2 million employees who leave their jobs due to discrimination. Lawsuit related to workplace discrimination costs employers and firms a substantial amount of loss. Recently according to the report a firm paid $3 million for the settlement of claims that it discriminated against job applicants based on race and gender in 15 states of United States of America. According to the Center for American Progress, almost 500 companies have nondiscrimination policies, but under the federal law of United States of America, few states have legislation in place to guarantee that the employees work status isn't affected on the basis of sexual orientation.

Defenses in case of Employment Discrimination are Necessity of business, Occupational Qualification of Bona fide nature, and the convention of Seniority Systems.  These defenses are used in court as an evidence or justification of deliberate or unintended employment discrimination claims. The remedies or damages available for the sufferer in case of employment discrimination, whether caused by intentional acts or by an act that caused a discriminatory effect, may include hiring, back pay, front pay, promotion, reinstatement, reasonable adjustment, or other actions that will make an individual in the condition he or she would have been but for the discrimination caused. Remedies may also include payment of attorneys' fees by the employer, the court costs, and the expert witness fees. Under Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforced laws, compensatory and punitive damages may also be available where intentional discrimination is found. Damages may be available to compensate for actual or future monetary losses, and for mental torture or distress and tiresomeness. Punitive damages also may be granted if an employer acted with hatred or reckless indifference. However the punitive damages available are not available against the federal, state or local governments.