EEO
legislation has multiple laws that affect, help regulate, and help diminish
discrimination in the work place such as the Americans with disabilities act of
1990 or the Pregnancy discrimination act of 1978, which assist minority groups
deal with discrimination at work.
The Equal Pay Act of 1962 for
example makes it illegal for organizations to alter the pay, benefits and
pensions of an employee simply because of their gender. This prevents employers
from paying one gender more than another for “equal” jobs. However, employers
can bypass this law if they follow a seniority, merit, or quantity/quality
system of production. This however must be because of said system, not because
of a particular employee’s gender.
Another act, the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act of 1967 discourages discrimination based on age. Under this
act it is prohibited for employers from discriminating against people age 40 or
older in any area of employment.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Act
of 1972 increased the coverage created in the Civil rights Act of 1964 to the
point where I encompassed state and local government as well as public and
private educational institutions. This
act also increases the government’s ability to enforce the power of the Equal
Employee Opportunities Commission by allowing the agency to take employers to
court.
Another law, one which was mentioned
earlier, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provide protection for
those with mental or physical disabilities. This act mandates that employers
must make reasonable accommodation the needs of their disabled employees, such
as providing ramps for those in wheelchairs, or to maintain a safe environment
for their more unfortunate workers.
Finally the Uniform Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 was passed to assist those who
have entered the military for short periods of service. This act protects
against discrimination just because of their military obligation. This act also
requires that employers make reasonable efforts to accommodate serving
individuals, while the individual in question is required to provide their
employers with an advanced notice of their military obligations and possible
leaves.
