| The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant, an employee, or a former employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information, or reprisal. The laws prohibiting discrimination apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits. |
The Federal laws prohibiting job discrimination are:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/vii.html) (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/epa.html) (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/adea.html) (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;
Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/ada.html) (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments;
Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government; and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination. http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/cra91.html
Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscriminaton Act of 2008 (http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/genetic.cfm) (GINA), prohibits the use of genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts employers and other entities covered by Title II from requesting, requiring or purchasing genetic information, and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic information.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces all of these laws. EEOC also provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies. http://www.eeoc.gov/abouteeoc/coordination/index.html
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA)
Other federal laws, not enforced by EEOC, also prohibit discrimination and reprisal against federal employees and applicants. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) contains a number of prohibitions, known as prohibited personnel practices, which are designed to promote overall fairness in federal personnel actions. http://www.osc.gov/ppp.html 5 U.S.C. 2302.
The CSRA prohibits any employee who has authority to take certain personnel actions from discriminating for or against employees or applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age or disability. It also provides that certain personnel actions can not be based on attributes or conduct that do not adversely affect employee performance, such as marital status and political affiliation.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has interpreted the prohibition of discrimination based on conduct to include discrimination based on sexual orientation. The CSRA also prohibits reprisal against federal employees or applicants for whistle-blowing, or for exercising an appeal, complaint, or grievance right. The CSRA is enforced by both the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB).
Additional information about the enforcement of the CSRA may be found on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/er/address2/guide01.htm; from OSC at (202) 653-7188 or at http://www.osc.gov; and from MSPB at (202) 653-6772 or at http://www.mspb.gov .