Title VII & Employment Laws
Title VII is a catch-all name for various anti-discrimination employment laws enacted by the U.S. Congress over many years. Another name for Title VII is the Civil Rights Act. The general purpose of Title VII is to provide equal employment opportunities to all people, regardless of race, national origin, color, religion or gender. State and federal agencies help enforce Title VII, and employees have rights to monetary damages for Title VII violations by their employers.
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Size
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Title VII does not apply to all employers, but instead only applies to large employers. Employers with fewer than 15 employees do not have to abide by Title VII. However, even though Title VII is a federal statute, all employers with 15 or more employees must follow Title VII, regardless of whether they conduct business interstate or solely within one state. An employee is generally any person who is listed on the employer's payroll for each working day in 20 or more weeks during the year.
Exclusions
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Strangely, Title VII does not provide any protection to federal employees, even though Title VII is a federal statute. Federal employees fall under the protection of separate anti-discrimination laws.
Additionally, Title VII does not provide any protections for independent contractors. Title VII only applies to genuine employer-employee relationships.
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Significance
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Title VII protects employees by prohibiting employment discrimination. This generally means that employers must ignore race, skin color, gender, religious beliefs and national origin when it comes to making employment decisions. Employment decisions include decisions on hiring, promotions, compensation, benefits and terminations. If an employer makes any of those decisions based on one of the factors listed, then the employer has violated Title VII.
Benefits
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Title VII provides employees with legal remedies against discriminatory employers. Potential remedies include reinstatement, which means returning to a lost job, or receiving a previously denied promotion or raise. Additionally, an employee who has been discriminated against may be able to recover actual lost wages, damages related to a tarnished reputation and estimated lost future wages.
Prevention/Solution
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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is a federal agency in charge of enforcement of Title VII. The EEOC has created local and state government offices so it is accessible nationwide. If an employee has a Title VII complaint against her employer, then the employee must file a complaint with the local EEOC office. The EEOC will review the complaint and either institute an enforcement action (rare) or issue the employee a "right to sue" letter (common). An employee with a right to sue letter can then file a lawsuit in court.
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References
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