Civil Rights Act of 1964 Was Landmark

Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation in the United States. The original purpose of the Bill was to protect black men from job-related and other discrimination, but it was later expanded to include protection for women. As a result, it provided political momentum for feminism. This Act prohibited discrimination in public facilities, in government, and in employment. The Jim Crow laws in the South were finally discarded, and it was illegal to compel segregation of the races in schools, housing, or hiring. Although initial enforcement powers were weak, they grew over the years, and such later programs as affirmative action were made possible by the Civil Rights Act.

President Lyndon Johnson signed the bill into law on July 2, 1964. Title VII of this Act outlaws discrimination in employment in any business on the basis of race, national origin, sex, or religion. Title VII only applies to employers with 15 or more employees. Title VII also prohibits retaliation against employees who oppose such unlawful discrimination (Author unknown, 1999). The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforces Title VII and investigates, mediates, and sometimes files lawsuits on behalf of employees. Title VII also states that an individual can bring a private lawsuit within 180 days of learning of the discrimination. In the late 1970s, courts began judging that sexual harassment was prohibited under the Act (Fitzgerald, 2003). Since then, Title VII has been supplemented with legislation prohibiting pregnancy, age, and disability discrimination. Currently, there is no federal law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, Congress continues to consider the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit sexual orientation employment discrimination (Williams, 1999).

Some examples of discrimination covered under Title VII include:

Harassing a person because of their friends', relatives', or associates' race, skin, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability

Treating people in similar jobs differently

Making assumptions about the abilities of persons based on stereotypes, physical characteristics, or age

Retaliating against a person because a complaint was filed

Title VII also prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace (Williams, 1999), which may include:

Unwelcome sexual advances

Requests for sexual favors

Verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature

Sexually suggestive or offensive personal references about an individual

The following is an example of a comprehensive policy that a company may implement to avoid Title VII violations:

Conduct that has the purpose of interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an offensive or hostile work environment is prohibited. Harassment of any kind on the basis of race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age or disability is forbidden. Examples of conditions or behavior that, when unwelcome or repeated, may be harassment are: (1) sexual flirtations or advances, (2) physical contact or touching such as patting, pinching, brushing against another's body, and impeding or blocking movement, (3) verbal comments regarding an individual's race, sex, color, national origin, religion, age or disability, (4) visual displays such as posters, cartoons, displays of suggestive, derogatory or degrading objects, pictures or drawings in the workplace.

Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination and is an unlawful employment practice under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It is illegal when it is part of a manager's or supervisor's decision to hire or fire someone, when it is used to make other employment decisions like pay, promotion or job assignment, or when it interferes with the employee's work performance; or when it creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.

Sexual harassment is defined as deliberate or repeated behavior of a sexual nature that is unwelcome. This policy prohibits any demand or subtle pressure for sexual favors accompanied by promises or threats relating to an individual's employment status. Every employee is expected to refrain from behaviors in the workplace that may be considered harassment. Employees who experience harassment are encouraged to politely but firmly confront the harasser and ask the person to stop.