Title VII prohibits not only intentional discrimination, but also practices that have the effect of discriminating against individuals because of their race, color, national origin, religion, or sex.
Under Title VII, it is unlawful to discriminate in any aspect of employment, including:
The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) seeks to ensure that servicemembers are entitled to return to their civilian employment upon completion of their military service. Servicemembers should be reinstated with the seniority, status, and rate of pay that they would have obtained had they remained continuously employed by their civilian employer. To qualify for USERRA’s reemployment rights, a servicemember must meet the following eligibility criteria:
USERRA also protects servicemembers from discrimination in hiring, promotion, and retention on the basis of past, present and future membership in the armed services, or military obligations.
USERRA applies to voluntary as well as involuntary military service, in peacetime as well as wartime, and the law applies to virtually all civilian employers, including the federal government, state and local governments, and private employers, regardless of size. Complaints under USERRA are filed with the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service of the Department of Labor. Under USERRA, the Department of Justice may appear on behalf of a servicemember if the Department of Justice is reasonably satisfied that the servicemember is entitled to the rights or benefits being sought.
Executive Order 11246, signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965, prohibits federal government contractors and federal government-assisted construction contractors and subcontractors, who do over $10,000 in federal government business in one year from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion.
The Executive Order also requires federal government contractors to take affirmative action to ensure that equal opportunity is provided in all aspects of their employment. Affirmative action, or positive measures, must be taken by covered employers to recruit and advance qualified minorities and women for jobs in which they are underutilized relative to their availability. Affirmative actions include training programs, outreach efforts, and other positive steps. These procedures should be incorporated into the federal government contractor’s written personnel policies. Federal government contractors with written affirmative action programs must implement them, keep them on file, and update them annually.
Federal government contractors also are required to take all necessary actions to ensure that no one attempts to intimidate or discriminate against an individual for filing a complaint or participating in a proceeding under the Executive Order. Executive Order 11246 is administered by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs at the Department of Labor. The Department of Justice has authority to prosecute enforcement actions in federal court upon referral by the Department of Labor of complaints arising under the Executive Order.
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Delora L. Kennebrew |
Chief |
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Employment Litigation Section |
(202) 514-3831 TTY - 202-514-6780 FAX - (202) 514-1005 FAX 2 -(202) 514-1105 |