Chapter 3
Title VII of the Civil
Rights Act of 1964
McGraw-Hill/Irwin
Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Learning Objectives
 Explain the history leading up to passage of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Give examples of the ways that certain groups of
people were treated differently before passage
of the Civil Rights Act
 Discuss what is prohibited by Title VII
 Recognize who is covered by Title VII and who
is not
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Learning Objectives
 State how a Title VII claim is filed and proceeds
through the administrative process
 Determine if a Title VII claimant is able to
proceed after receiving a no–reasonable-cause
finding
 Distinguish between the various types of
alternative dispute resolution used by EEOC
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Learning Objectives
 Explain the Post-Civil War Statutes, including
what each is and what it does
 Discuss what management can do to comply
with Title VII
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A Historic Rights Act
 Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Prohibits discrimination in housing, education,
employment, public accommodations, and the receipt
of federal funds on the basis of race, color, gender,
national origin, or religion
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Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the
employment section of the act
 State and local governments passed laws paralleling
Title VII and the other protective legislation
 Affects on employers
 Prohibitions
 Regulations
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Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
 Amendments to the Act
 Equal Employment Opportunity Act
 Pregnancy Discrimination Act
 Civil Rights Act of 1991
 Congressional Accountability Act of 1995
 EEOC
 Job discrimination
 Employment discrimination
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Title VII Provisions
 An employer cannot discriminate on the basis of
 Race
 Color
 Gender
 Religion
 National origin
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Title VII Provisions
 In making decisions regarding
 Hiring/firing
 Training
 Discipline
 Compensation
 Benefits
 Classification
 Or other terms or conditions of employment
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Who Must Comply with Title VII?
 Employers
 Unions
 Joint labor and management committees making
admission, referral, training, and other decisions
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Who Must Comply with Title VII?
 Employment agencies and other similar hiring
entities making referrals for employment
 All private employers employing 15 or more
employees
 Federal, state, and local governments
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Who is Covered by Title VII
 Public (governmental) employees
 Private (non-governmental) employees
 Undocumented workers
 Undocumented workers may not be eligible for certain
forms of relief, such as reinstatement and back pay
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Employees Who Are Not Covered by
Title VII
 Employees of employers having less than 15
employees
 Employees whose employers are not engaged
in interstate commerce
 Non-U.S. citizens employed outside the United
States
 Employees of religious institutions, associations,
or corporations hired to perform work connected
with carrying on religious activities
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Employees Who Are Not Covered by
Title VII
 Members of Communist organizations
 Employers employing Native Americans living in
or around Native American reservations
 Employers who are engaged in interstate
commerce but do not employ 15 or more
employees for each of 20 or more calendar
weeks in the current or preceding calendar year
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Filing Claims under Title VII
 Claimant/ charging party: The person who
brings an action alleging violation of Title VII
 Vast majority of charges are sifted out of the system
 The EEOC has a success rate of 90 percent in
litigation
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Filing Claims under Title VII
 Statute of limitation
 Non-federal government employees within 180
days of the discriminatory event
 Federal employees within 45 days of the
discriminatory event
 Record keeping and reporting requirements:
Requirement under Title VII that certain
documents must be maintained and periodically
reported to the EEOC
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State Law Interface in the Filing
Process
 706 agency: Work-sharing agreement with the
EEOC
 Conciliation: Attempting to reach agreement on
a claim through discussion, without resort to
litigation
 Expanded filing time
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Proceeding Through the EEOC
 Respondent/ responding party: Person
alleged to have violated Title VII, usually the
employer
 Within 10 days of the claim, the EEOC serves
notice of the charge to the employer
 Antiretaliation provisions
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Mediation
 Attempt to streamline the EEOC case handling
process
 Alternative to a full-blown EEOC investigation
 “Referral-back” program
 Universal mediation agreements
 60 to 70 percent of incoming cases are offered
mediation
 Agreements reached are binding
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EEOC Investigation
 EEOC’s determination of reasonable cause
 Reasonable cause: EEOC finding that Title VII was
violated
 No-reasonable-cause finding
 No reasonable cause: EEOC finding that evidence
indicates no reasonable basis to believe Title VII was
violated
 Dismissal and notice of rights (right-to-sue letter)
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EEOC Investigation
 Reasonable-cause finding
 Meeting with EEO investigator
 EEO investigator: Employee of EEOC who reviews
Title VII complaints for merit
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Judicial Review
 Judicial review: Court review of an agency’s
decision
 De novo review: Complete new look at
administrative case by the reviewing court
 Mediation provides an alternative between
litigation and mandatory arbitration
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Judicial Review
 Mandatory arbitration agreements
 Federal Arbitration Act
 Jury trials
 The Civil Rights Act of 1991
 Awards compensatory and punitive damages
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The Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts
 42 U.S.C. Section 1981. – Equal Rights under
the Law
 42 U.S.C. Section 1983. – Civil Action for
Deprivation of Rights
 42 U.S.C. Section 1985. – Conspiracy to
Interfere with Civil Rights
 The Ku Klux Klan Act
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An Important Note
 Discrimination claims under Title VII and other
employment discrimination legislation must be
proved just as any other lawsuit
 The employee must offer evidence to support
any claims
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An Important Note
 Employers do not have to fear being sued if they
consistently treat employees in a protected class
just as they would those of any other similarly
situated employee
 Title VII is not a job guarantee for women and
minorities
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Management Tips
 Make sure that all employees understand
 What Title VII is
 What Title VII requires
 Who Title VII applies to
 How the employees’ actions can bring about liability
for the employer
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Management Tips
 Ensure that employees know
 What kinds of actions will be looked at in a Title VII
proceeding
 That the employer will not allow Title VII to be violated
 That all employees have a right to a workplace free of
illegal discrimination
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