Discrimination the Mentioned Acts Have a Common

Discrimination

The mentioned acts have a common thread of setting boundaries for discrimination in the workplace. Each act makes illegal discrimination in the workplace on the basis of specific personal traits. In a sense, most of the acts are built on the framework of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and they expand on that act's protections. Title VII banned discrimination on the basis of gender, race, religion, color or national origin (EEOC, 2014). The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 offers protections to women as an amendment to Title VII protections against sex discrimination. This act extends those protections to discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. The age acts work to prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, while the Americans with Disabilities Act works to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability, and sets boundaries for how and when disabilities can be factored into consideration for employment.

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The Civil Rights Act is applied in two ways -- hiring and promotion. A person cannot be discriminated against in hiring because of his or her gender, religion, color, race or national origin. So employers cannot take these factors into account when hiring. The employer also cannot take into account these factors when making a promotion decision. One case that was found to be a Title VII violation was Griggs vs. Duke Power where the company used tests to determine promotions, where those tests serve to discriminate against certain groups (FindLaw, 2014).

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 specifies and clarifies the Civil Rights Act of 1964, where pregnancy is a factor in the creation of discrimination against women. If a women becomes pregnant, she cannot suffer harassment on the job because of that pregnancy under this law. Harassment is defined as being "so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision." Another component of the law is that it demands equal treatment for pregnant women as any temporarily disabled person, including the provision of unpaid leave and an obligation to provide "light duty, alternative assignments, disability leave or unpaid leave" (EEOC, 2014).

Where age discrimination is applied would typically be at the older end of the age spectrum. Age discrimination can arise for a number of reasons, including higher wage demands from older workers, and a perception that they are not going to be able to learn and grow with the company. Many older workers, when they are laid off, find it very difficult to re-enter the workforce. Part of this can relate to them having let their skills lapse where there jobs had not evolved in years, but in many other cases age discrimination comes into play and the older worker is being passed over for younger candidates. Age discrimination can also come into play in promotions, for example where older workers are passed over for promotions in search of younger workers with a more strongly upward career path.