Contemporary employment discrimination law developed mainly out of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and sex. Subsequent legislation and legal interpretations have extended employment discrimination to include age, disability, pregnancy, and other categories. On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII also extends protection to LGBT employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the agency responsible for the enforcement of federal employment discrimination laws. These laws also protect those who report discrimination from retaliation. States have laws prohibiting employment discrimination that are similar to and sometimes more expansive than federal laws (Bennett-Alexander, 2018). These state agencies are referred to as fair employment practice agencies (FEPAs).
Sexual harassment is a form of employment discrimination that can occur in a variety of ways.
- The victim, as well as the harasser, may be a woman or a man.
- The victim may be of the same or opposite sex.
- The harasser may be the victim’s supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker or a nonemployee, such as a vendor or customer.
- The victim does not have to be the person harassed but can be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
- The harasser’s conduct must be unwelcome.
If you report sexual harassment, whether to your supervisor or someone in HR, legally they must investigate the harassment and, if found credible, take prompt action to try to stop the behavior.
Ideally, it is best to understand your rights and responsibilities regarding employment discrimination before encountering a problem. Familiarize yourself with your company’s policies on discrimination and the procedures of the EEOC and relevant state FEPAs. If you feel you have been the subject of workplace discrimination, the EEOC website is a good place to begin figuring out the most appropriate way to respond. There you can find the relevant laws, the role of enforcement agencies in interpreting and administering the laws, and how to file charges. It is important to note that, with the exception of violations of the Equal Pay Act (EPA), you can only file a job discrimination lawsuit under federal law after you have fled charges with the EEOC.