Employment Discrimination Laws:

1. Employment Discrimination Laws: Title VII ADEA PDA ADA Sexual Orientation

2. Title VII • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (gender), or national origin in companies with 15 or more employees. • One of the key provisions is prohibition of sexual or racial/religious/ethnic harassment by supervisors, coworkers or even by third parties. • Another key provision is prohibition of unintentional discrimination • Enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and by state agencies in states which have comparable civil rights laws. http://members.aol.com/mattlawfrm/fedlaw.htm#title7

3. ADEA • Enacted in 1967 • Its purpose is to ensure protection for individuals who are at least 40 years old or above • When posting a job opening, no employer is permitted to put forth an age preference or offer benefits for applying to one specific age group • Protects against discrimination in hiring/firing, benefits, training, terms, etc. • The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission oversees and enforces the ADEA • In 1990, the ADEA was amended by the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act of 1990 which prohibited employees from denying benefits to older workers. • In enacting the OWBPA, Congress recognized that it is more costly to provide benefits to older workers rather than younger workers, but that employers should not see this as reasoning to lower benefits. This act made it a requirement for employers to provide equal benefits for employees working at the same level. (Information taken from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

4. Filar v. Bd. Of Educ. Of Chicago • The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Court has ruled that a 69 year old teacher’s ADEA challenge to her reassignment from full-time teacher to substitute teacher can proceed, but it has rejected her claim under ADA.

5. PDA • The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. • PDA makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on aspects of pregnancy including childbirth and other medical conditions related to pregnancy. • Other medical conditions include infertility, abortion, and pregnant spouses. • There are five main protections provided under PDA. • Under PDA employers are not expected to treat pregnant employees with anymore leniency then non pregnant employees.

6. ADA • Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990(ADA) • -ADA prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other privileges of employment. • -An individual with a disability is a person who: -Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. -Has a record of such impairment or is regarded as having such impairment.  • A qualified employee with a disability is an individual who, with or without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question. -An employer is required to provide reasonable accommodation unless they can should that it would be an undue hardship: would require significant difficulty or expense. • ADA also protects an individual if they are a victim of discrimination because of their family, business, or social relationship with an individual with a disability.

7. School Bd. Of Nassau County v. Arline • Gene Arline was a teacher in Nassau County, Fl, whose job as an elementary teacher was terminated because she had 3 relapses of TB in a two year span of time. • Arline filed that she was protected under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. • The Supreme Court, affirmed the court of appeals to determine if she was otherwise qualified as an elementary teacher.

8. Stormyjean Winters v. Pasadena Independent School District • The teacher accepted a one year probationary contract and took medical leave for four months of that period. • The school did not offer the teacher a contract because she had a record of depression • The court held that the teacher held no record of a disability that limited a major life activity. • The teacher’s record of depression was noted as treatable and did not prevent her from working. • The court granted the school district summary judgment on the teachers discrimination claim under the ADA.

9. Sexual Orientation • Employment laws regarding sexual orientation prohibit workplace discrimination toward gay, lesbian, and bisexual employees. Although no current federal laws prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, many states, cities, and counties have enacted their own anti-discrimination laws. • As of August 2008, 20 states and hundreds of cities and counties had made it illegal to base decisions regarding hiring, firing, promotion, compensation, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment on sexual orientation.

11. Indiana Laws on sexual orientation Statewide Employment Protections • NO Private employment protections based on sexual orientation. • NO Private employment protections based on gender identity. • YES Public (state) employment protections based on sexual orientation. • - Public (state) employment protections based on gender identity.

12. ENDA-`Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2007‘(introduced to House) • The purposes of this Act are-- (1) to provide a comprehensive Federal prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; (2) to provide meaningful and effective remedies for employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; and (3) to invoke congressional powers, including the powers to enforce the 14th amendment to the Constitution, and to regulate interstate commerce and provide for the general welfare pursuant to section 8 of article I of the Constitution, in order to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.