FCC & EEO Federal Contract Compliance & EEO

Many foreign cultures associate the words United States of America with the vision of freedom and equality. People of many different races, disabilities and creeds have come to the United States seeking the impartiality upon which this country was founded. However, the road to these favorable conditions of today has not been easy. The relentless pursuit of equality by Americans is written in history more than once. The most famous struggle for equality is Thomas Jefferson's Declaration of Independence. When the British began pressuring the American Colonies for more taxes, and generally becoming prejudiced, the colonists began writing poetry, drawing political cartoons, and painting patriotic pictures. The founding fathers gathered to take initiative to pursue their rights as a new country and as individuals. This paper will discuss the EEO compliance requirements necessary to become a Federal contractor as well as focus on the necessary components to establish an Affirmative Action Plan. By doing so, a proper understanding of government regulations and non-discrimination practices can be achieved.

The Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) was established by John F. Kennedy in 1961. The laws it helped establish are the foundation in which we have created the equality in employment opportunities given to all Americans. Each of these policies has beneficial effects on our society. By implementing these laws, contractors ensure that American businesses see employees for their achievements and not by their diversities. The EEO has made it possible for individuals with disabilities and all races to work as equals in today's workforce. By doing so it has expanded the workplace by adding new concepts of thinking and efficiency (Dobbin, et al., 2003).

Nevertheless, no one in our current culture can deny the emotionally impact of the "I Have a Dream" sermon given by Dr. Martin Luther King in 1963. This speech was given in front of hundreds of thousands of civil rights supporters at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in support of equality. This speech inspired and informed individuals throughout American of the importance of equal opportunities. Even today this speech is still replayed through schools teachings, television programs, books, and many other illustrations. To help understand the equal employment opportunities laws and guidelines we need to know the basic legislation for each law (Landau, 2002). Once we understand these laws the easier it is to practice them in the workplace and outside the workplace as well.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)

This law makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants' and employees' sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.

The Executive order (11246) of 1965

This order signed by President Johnson in 1965, which imposes nondiscrimination and affirmative action requirements as a condition of doing business with the Federal Government.

Executive order (11375) of 1967

As amended prohibits sex discrimination in the payment of wages to women and men performing substantially equal work, in jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility, under similar working conditions, in the same establishment.

Executive order (11478) of 1967

An equal opportunity in Federal employment for all persons, to prohibit discrimination in employment because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, or age, and to promote the full realization of equal employment opportunity through a continuing...

The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the federal government. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business (Giblin, 1974).

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act

This law amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Immigration Reform and Control Act 1986

The national origin discrimination involves treating people unfavorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background.

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) 1993

An employee may take up to 12 work weeks of leave during any 12-month period for childbirth, adoption or foster care, to care for the employee's spouse, son, daughter, or parent with a serious health condition; and a serious health condition makes the employee unable to perform one or more of the essential functions of his or her job (Maltby and Yamada, 1996).

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members (i.e. An individual's family medical history). The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Affirmative Action Plan

Affirmative action is defined as a tool to monitor the consequences of employment practices. Affirmative action analyses determine whether employment practices result in a diverse applicant pool. The plan is designed to protect minorities from further discrimination and more importantly, to ameliorate the effects of past discrimination (Hall, 1977). These orders had to be strengthened when they met with resistance and with noncompliance. Thus, affirmative action was designed to serve a larger purpose than merely breaking down the barriers and forcing compliance. One of the main purposes of affirmative action is to give our nation a way to finally address the systemic exclusion of individuals of talent on the basic of their…