1. Chapter 3 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
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2. Learning Objectives (1)
Understand context: the long history leading up to passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Recognize what is prohibited by Title VII, and who is/is not covered by Title VII
Know how a Title VII claim is filed and proceeds through the administrative process
Determine the significance of a ‘no–reasonable-cause’ finding

3. Learning Objectives (2)
Distinguish the various types of alternative dispute resolution used by EEOC
Explain the limited role of the post-Civil War Statutes
Prevention: Discuss what management can do to comply with Title VII

4. An Historic Rights Act Primary focus is race
Milestone in a centuries-long struggle for equality
Abolitionism through Emancipation, Jim Crow laws, de jure and de facto segregation, post-War civil rights movement
The other protected characteristics had also been bases for discrimination in American culture
Broad coverage: prohibits discrimination in housing, education, employment, public accommodations, and the receipt of federal funds on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, or religion
Employment included at JFK’s insistence

5. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (1)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the employment section of the act
State and local governments later passed laws paralleling Title VII and the other protective legislation
Passive Prohibitions: “Thou shalt not…”
‘discrimination’ is what HR does – this law prohibits several status factors in making those choices among candidates
EEOC Regulations cover many specifics

6. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (2)
Amendments to the Act
Equal Employment Opportunity Act 1972
Extension to government employees
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Corrects US Supreme Court ruling on intended coverage
Civil Rights Act of 1991
Jury trials, compensatory damages, punitive damages
‘Extra-territorial’ application: US employers abroad

7. Title VII Provisions (1)
An employer cannot discriminate on the basis of:
Race
Color
Gender – almost not included
Religion
National origin
Each status factor was an American tradition
(not included: age, disability, affinity, other possible characteristics – law as product of the times)

8. Title VII Provisions (2)
Applies to promote equal opportunity in the fundamentals of employment relationship:
Hiring/firing/promotion
Training
Discipline
Compensation and Benefits
Classification
Or “other terms or conditions of employment” [basket]
Less important terms (dress codes) get less respect

9. Who Must Comply?
Private employers with 15 or more employees (lower limit of federal power)
Unions
Joint labor and management committees making admission, referral, training, and other decisions
Employment agencies and other similar hiring entities making referrals for employment
Federal, state, and local governments

10. Workers Covered by Title VII
Undocumented workers
Undocumented workers may not be eligible for certain forms of relief, such as reinstatement and back pay
Note the tension here – what are the arguments, pro and con, for including undocumented workers under Title VII?

11. Workers NOT Covered by Title VII (1)
Employers having fewer than 15 employees
Employers who are engaged in interstate commerce but do not employ 15 or more employees for each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year
Non-U.S. citizens employed outside the United States
US citizens employed elsewhere, if local law specifically forbids compliance

12. Employees Who Are NOT Covered by Title VII (2)
Employees of religious institutions, associations, or corporations hired to perform work connected with carrying on religious activities
Case: Petruska v. Gannon University
Members of Communist organizations
Native American employees living in or around Native American reservations
Employees of private clubs

13. State Law Interface in the Filing Process
706 agency: Work-sharing agreement with the EEOC
Conciliation: Attempting to reach agreement on a claim through discussion, without resort to litigation
Expanded filing time

14. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Administrative agency established by Civil Rights Act to oversee discrimination claims
Specialized expertise and case volume
Agency handles about 100,000 filings/year
See chart for relative volume
Doctrine: exhaustion of administrative remedies
Claims must go through agency before court (why?)
Scenario 1

15. Filing Claims under Title VII
Claimant/charging party: The person who brings an action alleging violation of Title VII
Respondent/responding party: Person alleged to have violated Title VII, usually the employer
EEOC Investigator: Employee of EEOC who reviews Title VII complaints for merit
Mediator: third party seeks to assist Claimant and Respondent in settling dispute, without authority to impose an outcome

16. Statute of Limitations
Statute of limitations – relatively brief
Non-federal government employees within 180 days, or federal employees within 45 days of the discriminatory event
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act: limitations period resets with every discriminatory pay check
Scenario 2

17. Proceeding Through the EEOC
Within 10 days of the claim, the EEOC serves notice of the charge to the employer
Anti-retaliation provisions
Most claims go to Mediation or Investigation

18. Mediation
Attempt to streamline the EEOC case handling process: parties engage mediator to facilitate settlement
60 to 70 percent of incoming cases are offered mediation as alternative to full-blown EEOC investigation; about 15 percent pursue it
“Referral-back” program, universal mediation agreements
Agreements reached are voluntary, binding

19. EEOC Investigation Process to determine merit of claim(s)
Meeting with EEO investigator
Outcomes are ‘reasonable cause’ or ‘no reasonable cause’ to believe prohibited discrimination occurred
Vast majority of charges are sifted out of the system
‘No reasonable cause’ finding in 64 percent of cases
Agency pursues conciliation, issues Right-to-sue letter

20. EEOC Investigation Outcomes
EEOC’s determination of reasonable cause
Reasonable cause: EEOC finding that Title VII was violated
Parties meet with investigator to ‘conciliate’
No-reasonable-cause finding
No reasonable cause: EEOC finding that evidence indicates no reasonable basis to believe Title VII was violated
Dismissal and notice of rights (right-to-sue letter)

21. Judicial Review
Judicial review: Court review of EEOC’s decision in federal district court
De novo review: Complete new look at claim by the reviewing court, via trial of case
Usually brought by Claimant, occasionally by EEOC
EEOC 90% litigation success
Mandatory arbitration agreement effects

22. The Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts
42 U.S.C. Section – Equal Rights under the Law
Patterson v. McLean Credit Union
42 U.S.C. Section – Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights
42 U.S.C. Section – Conspiracy to Interfere with Civil Rights
The Ku Klux Klan Act

23. Important Notes (1)
Record keeping and reporting requirements: Requirement under Title VII that certain documents must be maintained and periodically reported to the EEOC
Discrimination claims must be proved just as any other lawsuit – burden on plaintiff/claimant
Employee must offer evidence to support any claims
Case: Ali v. Mount Sinai Hospital, Scenario 3

24. Important Notes (2)
Employers do well against these charges if they have a system and work it: consistently treating employees in a protected class just as they would those of any other similarly situated employees
Unmanaged systems and routine exceptions raise suspicion
Documentation is necessary – and generally is your friend in proving-up your system.

25. Management Tips Make sure that all employees understand
What Title VII is, what it requires, and to whom it applies
How the employees’ actions can bring about liability for the employer
What kinds of actions will be looked at in a Title VII proceeding
That all employees have a right to a workplace free of illegal discrimination: the employer will not allow Title VII violations