The Civil Rights Act
of 1991
Newell Canfield
Janet Long
Mark Norris
Cynthia Spence
Background Information on
The Civil Rights Act of 1991
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1991 Act combined elements from The
Civil Rights Act of 1866 and The Civil
Rights Act of 1964.
CRA of 1866 prohibited discrimination based on
race and color only.
In addition, the CRA of 1866 remained dormant
and unenforceable for a century after its
passage.
CRA of 1964 included sex, religion, and national
origin.
Background Information on
The Civil Rights Act of 1991
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The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is a United
States statute that was passed in response to a
series of United States Supreme Court decisions
which limited the rights of employees who had
sued their employers for discrimination.
The Act represented the first effort since the
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify
some of the basic procedural and substantive
rights provided by federal law in employment
discrimination cases. It provided for the right to
trial by jury on discrimination claims and
introduced the possibility of emotional distress
damages, while limiting the amount that a jury
could award.
Famous Court Cases
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Case 1). Patterson v. McLean Credit
Union,(1989), which held that an
employee could not sue for damages
caused by racial harassment on the job,
because even if the employer's conduct
were discriminatory, the employer had not
denied the employee the "same right . . .
to make and enforce contracts . . . as is
enjoyed by white citizens," the language
that Congress chose when passing the law
in 1866.
Famous Court Cases
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Case 2). Wards Cove Packing Co. v.
Atonio, (1989), which made it more
difficult for employees to prove that an
employer's personnel practices, neutral on
their face, had an unlawful disparate
impact on them by requiring that they
identify the particular policy or
requirement that allegedly produced
inequalities in the workplace and show
that it, in isolation, had this effect.
Famous Court Cases
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Case 3). Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, (1989),
which held that the burden of proof shifted,
once an employee had proved that an unlawful
consideration had played a part in the
employer's personnel decision, to the employer
to prove that it would have made the same
decision if it had not been motivated by that
unlawful factor, but that such proof by the
employer would constitute a complete defense
for the employer.
Famous Court Cases
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Case 4). Martin v. Wilks, (1989), which
permitted white firefighters who had not
been party to the litigation establishing a
consent decree governing hiring and
promotion of black firefighters in the
Birmingham, Alabama Fire Department to
bring suit to challenge the decree.
Five Important Points
1.
The 1991 Civil Rights Act gives non-white
citizens the same full and equal benefit of
all laws and proceedings as is enjoyed by
white citizens. Such as, the right to make
and enforce contracts, give evidence, and
to sue for both compensatory and
punitive damages. Attorney's fees may be
awarded to the prevailing party.
Five Important Points
2.
3.
Since the law treats employment as a contract
between the worker and the employer, the
1991 Civil Rights Act makes it illegal for
employers to discriminate because of race,
ethnic background or alienage.
Unlike the other federal laws, which usually
apply to employers with 15 or more
employees, the 1991 Civil Rights Act applies to
all employers.
Five Important Points
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5.
Employers may no longer use
discriminatory test scores as a bases for
employment.
The 1991 act also includes U.S. Citizens
who are employed abroad, Presidential
appointees, and previously exempt state
employees.
Anti-Discrimination PSAs featuring
Wynton Marsalis
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The EEOC partnered with Wynton Marsalis and
New York's Jazz at Lincoln Center to produce
two public service announcements (PSAs) on
workplace discrimination. Each of the 30-second
spots aims to increase recognition and reporting
of race discrimination at work by making viewers
aware that it is against the law.
http://www.eeoc.gov/
Strategies for Managers
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Collect and maintain applicant flow
data.
Limit the pool of applicants.
Use written job descriptions.
Post promotional opportunities.
Use objective screening criteria at
an early stage.
Maintain records of employment
decisions.