(a) Written personnel policies relating to this subject area must
expressly indicate that there shall be no discrimination against
employees on account of sex. If the employer deals with a bargaining
representative for his employees and there is a written agreement on
conditions of employment, such agreement shall not be inconsistent with
these guidelines.
(b) Employees of both sexes shall have an equal opportunity to any
available job that he or she is qualified to perform, unless sex is a
bona fide occupational qualification.
Note: In most Government contract work there are only limited
instances where valid reasons can be expected to exist which would
justify the exclusion of all men or all women from any given job.
(c) The employer must not make any distinction based upon sex in
employment opportunities, wages, hours, or other conditions of
employment. In the area of employer contributions for insurance,
pensions, welfare programs and other similar ``fringe benefits'' the
employer will not be considered to have violated these guidelines if his
contributions are the same for men and women or if the resulting
benefits are equal.
(d) Any distinction between married and unmarried persons of one sex
that is not made between married and unmarried persons of the opposite
sex will be considered to be a distinction made on the basis of sex.
Similarly, an employer must not deny employment to women with young
children unless it has the same exclusionary policies for men; or
terminate an employee of one sex in a particular job classification upon
reaching a certain age unless the same rule is applicable to members of
the opposite sex.
(e) The employer's policies and practices must assure appropriate
physical facilities to both sexes. The employer may not refuse to hire
men or women, or deny men or women a particular job because there are no
restroom or associated facilities, unless the employer is able to show
that the construction of the facilities would be unreasonable for such
reasons as excessive expense or lack of space.
(f)(1) An employer must not deny a female employee the right to any
job that she is qualified to perform in reliance upon a State
``protective'' law. For example, such laws include those which prohibit
women from performing in certain types of occupations (e.g., a bartender
or a core-maker); from working at jobs requiring more than a certain
number of hours; and from working at jobs that require lifting or
carrying more than designated weights.
(2) Such legislation was intended to be beneficial, but, instead,
has been found to result in restricting employment opportunities for men
and/or women. Accordingly, it cannot be used as a basis for denying
employment or for establishing sex as a bona fide occupational
qualification for the job.
(g)(1) Women shall not be penalized in their conditions of
employment because they require time away from work on account of
childbearing. When, under the employer's leave policy the female
employee would qualify for leave, then childbearing must be considered
by the employer to be a justification for leave of absence for female
employees for a reasonable period of time. For example, if the female
employee meets the equally applied minimum length of service
requirements for leave time, she must be granted a reasonable leave on
account of childbearing. The conditions applicable to her leave (other
than the length thereof) and to her return to employment, shall be in
accordance with the employer's leave policy.
(2) If the employer has no leave policy, childbearing must be
considered by the employer to be a justification for a leave of absence
for a female employee for a reasonable period of time. Following
childbirth, and upon signifying her intent to return within a reasonable
time, such female employee shall be reinstated to her original job or to
a position of like status and pay, without loss of service credits.
(h) The employer must not specify any differences for male and
female employees on the basis of sex in either mandatory or optional
retirement age.
(i) Nothing in these guidelines shall be interpreted to mean that
differences in capabilities for job assignments do not exist among
individuals and that such distinctions may not be recognized by the
employer in making specific assignments. The purpose of these guidelines
is to insure that such distinctions are not based upon sex.
