Question

Discuss the following equal employment opportunity laws:

a. The Equal Pay Act of 1963; b. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; c. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act; d. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990; and e. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009.

Answer 1

1. The Equal Pay Act of 1963

Congress passed the Equal Pay Act in 1963, it is considered as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The Equal Pay Act mandates that employers cannot award unequal wages or benefits to men and women working for the same job which requires same skills, effort, and responsibility, and also performed under same or similar working conditions. this law also includes guidelines for unequal pay; unequal pay is permitted specifically on the basis of merit, seniority, worker’s quality and quantity of production and other factors which are not determined by gender.

2. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

It is a federal law that protects employees from the discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It applies to employers in both private and public sectors that have 15 or more employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforced the Title VII. According to this act, an employer may not discriminate with regard to any terms, conditions, or privilege of employment. It is applicable in areas like recruiting, hiring, promoting, transferring, training, disciplining, discharging, assigning work, measuring performance, or providing benefits.

3. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act

It came into existence in 1967. It is a US statute which protects certain workers who are 40 years old or more from workplace discrimination. It specifically prohibits the use of an employee’s or job applicant’s age as a factor in hiring, promoting, firing or discharging, compensating, terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. This act is applicable to companies which have 20 or more number of workers. This act came into existence to minimize the damaging effects of long-term unemployment on older workers.

4. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990

It is a civil rights law which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and other public and private places that are for general public. The main agenda of this law is to make sure that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. According to this act people with disabilities must access the same employment opportunities and benefits available to people without disabilities.

5. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009

This act is an amendment of Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964. It bolstered employee protections against pay discrimination. The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act allows employees who face pay discrimination to seek rectification under federal anti-discrimination law. It addressed wage discrimination on the basis of age, religion, gender, sex, disability, national origin, and race. It states that wage discrimination cases can be filed within 180 days of the last paycheck in which the discrimination occurs.