Title III Research Paper

Title VII

University of Phoenix

MGT/434

July 27, 2010
Kelly File
Title VII Most working agencies that use the employment of people to do work for them are usually considered as employers by the court system. All organizations that fall under the “employer” guidelines must comply with the regulations that protect the employees’ who work in their establishments. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the many laws applicable to organizations that employ United States citizens, with a few exceptions to this particular law. “Title VII exempts from its regulation government-owned corporations, Indian tribes, and bona fide private membership clubs” (Alexander, Bennett, & Hartman, 2007, p.11). This paper will
explain various components of the Title VII law. The elements described in the paper will include the history and evolution of its amendments, the application of the law and its amendments in the workplace, who the law does and does not cover, disparate impact discrimination and disparate treatment discrimination implications, company policies that must be implemented to avoid discrimination in the workplace, and how Title VII defines sexual harassment along with what employers’ responsibilities are for addressing employees’ sexual harassment complaints in the workplace.
History and Evolution Within Title VII there are a lot of issues under employee’s rights regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even though other titles were created under this Act. The formation of the legal steps for nondiscrimination in voting, education, public accommodation and federally assisted programs came from the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 (Alexander, Bennett, & Hartman, 2007, p. 70). Towards the end of slavery the individuals that had no social or legal relationship with everyone else in the world were forced to bond. Later came the structuring of Jim Crow laws. These laws were developed because of this separation. During this time, the division of blacks and whites caused this because this is where the practice of discrimination came about. Radical discrimination was the driving force behind Title VII. Months prior to ending of the Civil War, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution eliminating slavery was recommended to the other anarchies. This was confirmed by 19 of the 36 states the moment the Civil War successfully ended on April 9, 1865, and ratified by another eight states during successive months and "ratification was inclusive on December 6, 1865" (Employment Law Information Network, 2010, para 2.). Six additional states ratified the 13th Amendment by 1870 but not prior to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which "provided that all citizens would have the benefit of the equivalent rights as white citizens." (Employment Law Information Network, 2010, para 4.). Slaves were always denied the right to own property, sign contracts, sue, or to be part of any legal proceedings. With passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, former slaves and all races were to include the same rights to own assets and etc. as white citizens always had. The evolution of Title VII states that it is illegal for businesses to differentiate in opposition to any employee from being hired based on the individual 's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Congress amended Title VII in 1978 by passing the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and made it understandable that to facilitate discrimination support on pregnancy is unlawful sex discrimination. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was written by legislation to protect the disabled against the barriers of employment discrimination in both the federal and private employment genres. Title VII was amended several times after 1964. Congress then passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), defending people between 40 and 65 from unfairness in employment (EEOC, 2010, para 6.). Title VII gave new rights to minorities and women who were limited to the means of solving job discrimination issues. Title VII created new ventures to eliminate discrimination creating fairness that is expected in employment settings. While efforts to eliminate discrimination and make certain no one is excluded such amendments came after Title VII, adding additional protection from experiencing discrimination in many different areas.
Application and Amendments in the Workplace Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 means that employers who meet the criteria outlined in any of the acts must comply with these federal regulations to offer Americans equal employment opportunity.
The purpose of well-intentioned employers had to evaluate their hiring practices to ensure that equal employment opportunities were offered fairly to all qualified applicants, and that current employees were treated fairly in regard to fair pay, advancements, and etc. Title VII mandates organizations to demonstrate provisions for positive accommodations essential to stay in compliance with the regulations of this law. For example, because Title VII precludes religious discrimination, employees may ask their employers for "reasonable accommodation," which is essentially a change in company rules or policy that would allow the employee to practice his or her faith. An example would be a Muslim employee asking to have Friday afternoons off to attend mosque meetings. However, the employee is entitled to ask, but the employer is not required to grant adjustment that would cause undue hardship on the business, meaning that the accommodation is too costly or complicated to
provide.

Who is covered, who is not covered? “Protected employees include the following: one or more individuals, labor unions, partnerships, corporations, legal representatives, mutual companies, joint stock companies, trusts, unincorporated organizations, trustees and trustees in bankruptcy, or receivers” (EEOC, 2010, para 2.). Title VII became effective gradually to include persons and their agents with 15 or more employees. In the first year of its existence, persons with a hundred or fewer employees were not considered to be covered employers. The second year the definition changed to include companies fewer than 75 workers; and after the third year of the Title VII effective date, persons with 50 or fewer employees were not considered as covered employers. Title VII initially described a company to be that of who engaged in a production with 25 or additional workers for every work day in each of 20 or more scheduled weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and some representatives of such an individual affecting commerce.
Disparate Impact and Treatment Discrimination under Title VII While the presumption of disparate impact discrimination was not originally recognizable under Title VII, the Supreme Court recognized its practicality in the case of Griggs v. Duke Power Company. Prior to that, individuals could only make a particular claim under Title VII if they could prove a valid disparate treatment claim. There are two crucial types of race and color discrimination claims under Title VII. The first is disparate-treatment discrimination which occurs when race, color, or any other protected trait is a motivating factor in how an individual is treated. (Smith, 2010, para 3.). Disparate impact discrimination is the other type that occurs when a neutral policy or practice has a significant negative impact on one or more protected groups, or if the policy or practice is not job-related and consistent with business necessity, or if there is a less discriminatory alternative and the employer has refused to adopt it. (Smith, 2010, para 4.). Despite the fact that disparate impact actions have been acknowledged under the Civil Rights Act, the circuit courts disagreed whether this theory of discrimination applied to the Age Discrimination in the Employment Act.
Company Policies There are numerous policies that companies and organizations must have in place to adhere to Title VII regulations.
Even though these particular policies are put in place discrimination still exists in a number of organizations throughout the United States. There are many types of discrimination that take place. The types of discrimination prohibited in Title VII are based on individual 's race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Title VII is also used in cases of sexual harassment, disparate impact, and disparate treatment. All of the company policies and practices mandated by Title VII derive from the many amendments contrived from Title VII. By law, all organizations and business must adhere to the implementation of policies and business practices that protect the right of U.S. citizens. Each organization may have different policies that they must ensure is an integral part of their company procedures. “For example, amendments to Title VII are discrimination against age and disability. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) applies to employers of 20 or more employees, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) intentions are to make society more accessible to people with disabilities (Alexander, Bennett, & Hartman, 2007,
p.188).
Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is still today, and always will be, a hot topic and a significant liability among the employer-employee relationship in the workplace. Title VII defines sexual harassment to be any form of sex discrimination in employment. “Sex discrimination can be defined as any actions taken on the basis of sex that discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” (Sexual Harassment Prevention Office, 2003, para 2.). Employers’ responsibilities for addressing employees’ complaints in the workplace are to take the appropriate immediate responses to such complaints when they rise and to fully participate in any cases warranting investigations when necessary. Some sexual harassment claims are simple to resolve and others are complicated and necessitate investigation. Employers’ must also keep employees’ files and records on this information confidential. If and when an employer finds that sexual harassment did occur, the employer then has the responsibility to take the appropriate action(s) that include oral or written warnings, demotion, deferral of a raise or promotion, suspension, or discharge.
Conclusion
From sexual harassment to disparate treatment due to age, discrimination is apparently a consistent trend among the United States workforce. The scope of Title VII covers various aspects of the law, protecting the American workforce from unwanted and unfair treatment from employers and co-workers. Title VII has gone through many changes since it was initially constructed, so the law has been revised throughout its existence to accommodate the numerous issues that plague the contemporary workplace. Organizations are mandated to comply with the regulations of Title VII in efforts of diminishing all practices of discrimination.

References
Alexander, Bennett, D.D., & Hartman, L.P. (2007). Employment Law for Business. (5th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill
Employment Law Information Network (2010). Title VII Regulations. Retrieved July 20, 2010 from www.elinfonet.com/title7_regs.php.html
Sexual Harassment Prevention Office (2003). What is Sexual Harassment? Retrieved July 22, 2010 from http://www.sexualharassment.ucla.edu/what_is_defs_titlevii.html
Smith, L (2010). Race Discrimination in the Workplace. Retrieved July 25, 2010 from http://www.hrhero.com/topics/race_discrimination.html

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (nd.). Retrieved July 9, 2010 from http://www.eeoc.gov/