Title VII

Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, or sex.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) was created to enforce these provisions.

Key Definitions

Religious discrimination includes limiting or denying equal employment to individuals without making a reasonable effort to accommodate their religious beliefs.

Sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender, sexual harassment, and pregnancy discrimination.

Sexual harassment may be defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature made to an employee under the following conditions.

1. When submission to such conduct is made a term or condition of an individual’s employment.
   
   
2. When submission or rejection is used as the basis for employment decisions (promotions, transfers, terminations, layoffs).
   
   
3. When the conduct interferes with an individual’s work performance.
   
   
4. When the conduct creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment.

Pregnancy discrimination is discrimination based on pregnancy or a related condition.  Pregnant women must be treated the same as other applicants and employees on the basis of their ability or inability to work. (See PDA)

A bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) is an essential job requirement or duty that creates the need to hire, or seemingly discriminate against, certain people.  It may be used as a legal defense for employment practices that appear to violate Title VII.

Coverage

Employers with 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding year must comply with Title VII.

Exempt from Title VII prohibitions and protections are:

• religious corporations, associations, educational institutions or societies with respect to the employment of individuals of a particular religion to perform work connected with the carrying on by such corporation, association, educational institution, or society of its activities;
  
  
• bona fide, tax-exempt private clubs;
  
  
• Indian tribes;
  
  
• businesses on or near an Indian reservation to the extent that they give preferential treatment to individuals living on or near the reservation;
  
  
• jobs that contain a BFOQ necessary to perform the job; and
  
  
• aliens employed outside the United States.

Requirements

• An employer may not use an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin as a basis for:
  
  
  1. failing or refusing to hire an applicant for employment;
     
     
  2. discharging or otherwise disciplining an employee;
     
     
  3. determining an employee’s compensation, including fringe benefits or other terms, conditions, or privileges of employment; or
     
     
  4. limiting, segregating, or classifying an employee or an applicant for employment in a way that would tend to deprive him/her of an employment opportunity or otherwise adversely affect his/her status as an employee.
     
     
• An employer may not discriminate against an applicant or an employee because he/she has opposed an employer practice unlawful under Title VII or because he/she has filed a charge,  testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under Title VII.

Record-Keeping Requirements

Personnel or employment records must be retained for one year from the date a record is made or an employment action is taken, whichever is later, including:

• job application forms;
  
  
• test papers completed by applicants;
  
  
• results of pre-employment physical exams;
  
  
• advertisements or notices relating to job openings, promotions, training programs, and opportunities for overtime work; and
  
  
• records of promotion, demotion, transfer, selection for training, layoff, recall, and discharge.

The EEO-1 Employer Information Report must be filed annually by September 30 and retained for three years by all employers that have 100 or more employees, or companies with 50 or more employees who are federal contractors doing over $50,000 worth of government contract work.  The Affirmative Action Report Form must also be filed and retained for three years by all employers who are required to file form EEO-1.  Exception: If a discrimination charge is filed or a complaint is made to the EEOC, all pertinent records must be retained until the complaint is resolved.

State and local governments, public schools and institutions of higher education must retain all records listed above for two years, except information used in compiling EEO forms must be retained for three years.

 

 

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