Essay Undergraduate 528 words

Civil Rights Act, ADA, and Whistleblower Protections

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Abstract

This paper examines two key areas of employment law: anti-discrimination protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and whistleblower protections for employees who report workplace wrongdoing. The paper explains how the ADA expanded protections to cover disabilities — including illnesses in remission — and discusses the employer's obligation to provide reasonable accommodations. It then reviews a notable whistleblower lawsuit filed by former Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary to illustrate how whistleblower laws function to encourage employees to come forward with knowledge of misconduct without fear of retaliation.

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What makes this paper effective

Uses concrete legal examples — such as the breast cancer ADA ruling and the McQueary whistleblower lawsuit — to ground abstract statutory concepts in real-world application.
Clearly distinguishes between two distinct bodies of employment law (anti-discrimination and whistleblower protections) without conflating them.
Applies the ADA's "reasonable accommodations" standard with practical examples (wheelchair-accessible office vs. a driving-required position) to illustrate where the law draws its limits.

Key academic technique demonstrated

The paper demonstrates case-to-principle reasoning: it introduces a legal statute, explains its scope, and then anchors understanding with a specific court ruling or lawsuit. This moves the reader from abstract law to concrete application, a standard technique in legal studies and HR writing.

Structure breakdown

The paper is organized into two clearly labeled sections. The first covers the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the ADA, including disability scope and reasonable accommodations, supported by a recent court case. The second covers whistleblower protections using the Penn State/McQueary lawsuit as a case illustration. Each section follows the same pattern: statute overview, scope clarification, and real-world example.

Introduction to Equal Employment Opportunity Law

Two landmark areas of employment law — anti-discrimination protections under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and whistleblower protections for employees who report workplace wrongdoing — form the foundation of equal employment opportunity in the United States. Together, they define both the rights of employees and the obligations of employers.

Civil Rights Act of 1964 and ADA Protections

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed to prohibit discrimination in the workplace, schools, and other public arenas. The law protected historically discriminated-against groups such as women, religious groups, and other ethnic minorities. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 expanded the protections of the original Civil Rights Act to include people with disabilities. However, what constitutes a disability has remained a contentious area of the law.

According to the ADA, employers must not discriminate against persons with mobility, visual, or hearing impairments, as well as people with cognitive disabilities. Illnesses have also been increasingly included under the law. Employers must make reasonable accommodations for their employees (Summary of ADA: Key points, 2012, LIFE Center). So long as an employee can perform the job with reasonable accommodations, they cannot be discriminated against.

For example, an administrator who needs a wheelchair-accessible office on the first floor would likely fall under the category of reasonable accommodation. By contrast, a job that requires driving makes it impossible to reasonably accommodate a visually impaired person, and no accommodation violation would apply in that circumstance.

Disability Definitions and Reasonable Accommodations

In light of this principle, a federal court in New York recently held that an employee's breast cancer could qualify as a disability under the ADA, even though the cancer was in remission (Schwartz, 2012). Discriminating against a woman with breast cancer could be read as a violation of both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the ADA, given that it discriminates against a woman because of a specifically female condition and also because of a disease-related condition — even if that condition is not permanently manifest. This case illustrates how disability discrimination law continues to evolve through court interpretation.

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Whistleblower Protections and Employee Rights · 120 words

"Whistleblower law illustrated by Penn State lawsuit"

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Key Concepts in This Paper

Civil Rights Act ADA Protections Reasonable Accommodations Disability Definition Workplace Discrimination Whistleblower Rights Employee Retaliation Equal Employment Opportunity