WEBVTT

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Hey Vanessa, go ahead
and share your screen

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and address the first set of federal
equal employment laws.

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No problem.

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Modern day federal
equal employment laws

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began with the Civil Rights Act of 1964

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and amendments to it and
interpretations by the courts.

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Title VII of that act applies
to private sector employers

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with 15 or more employees.

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It prohibits discrimination based
on race, color, religion,

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national origin, and sex.

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Over the years, it's been
amended a number of times

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and expanded by the courts, and

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as we'll see, to protect against
discrimination based on pregnancy,

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sexual orientation,
and gender identity.

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Act
of 1972 extended Title VII coverage

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to state and local government agencies,
as well as public and

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private educational institutions.

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The Pregnancy Discrimination
Act of 1978

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amended Title VII to prohibit
discrimination based on pregnancy,

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childbirth, and related
medical conditions.

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The Civil Rights Act of 1991
amended Title VII

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to allow for jury trials and punitive
damages in discrimination cases.

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It also put caps on compensatory
and punitive damages

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based on the size of the employer.

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The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
of 2009 amended Title VII

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and two other federal
non-discrimination laws

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to expand an employee's ability
to recover pay lost

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due to wage discrimination.

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And the 2020 US Supreme
Court's Bostock decision

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interpreted Title VII's "sex"
discrimination prohibition

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to include Sexual Orientation
and Gender Identity discrimination.

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So, it's important to understand that
sex discrimination law protects

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persons of all sexes, gender identities,
and sexual orientations-

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including cisgendered men
and heterosexuals.

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Also, race discrimination law protects
persons of all races,

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including Caucasians.

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Basically, almost every applicant,
employee, or former employee

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is now protected from discrimination

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because of their membership
in groups protected by law.

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There are more anti-discrimination
laws in employment

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that go further than Title VII

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and its amendments and
court interpretations.

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So, here are some
more prominent ones:

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There are more anti-discrimination
laws in employment that

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go further than Title VII and its
amendments and court interpretations.

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Here are some of the
more prominent ones:

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The Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 and the 1973 Rehabilitation Act,

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protect persons with mental and physical
disabilities from discrimination

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in the workplace.

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The 1967 Age Discrimination
in Employment Act,

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protects persons who are
40 years old and older,

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from employment discrimination
based on their age,

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and... The 2008 Genetic Information
Non-Discrimination Act

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protects everyone's
genetic information

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аnd prohibits employers
from asking for it.

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There are even more protected
classes in other federal laws

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that we haven't listed here.

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State and local laws can add to this list
of protected characteristics, too.

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Be sure to check with the HR department
so you know the laws that apply

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to you and your job.

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So...

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generally...

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discrimination happens when
employment decisions are motivated

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by the individual's protected
class status, right?

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Exactly!

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In fact, one of the cases I'm working
on now is a good example.

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I'll change the names
and situation a bit

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so I don't give away
any client confidences,

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but so you can learn from it.

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A manager was going on vacation and
needed to leave somebody in charge.

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Okay.

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That about covers it.

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Oh,

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by the way, when I'm out
of the office next week...

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I don't think that there'll be
anything out of the ordinary...

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just in case, there
is Andy's in charge.

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Okay?

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Any problems?

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Great.

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Yeah, I had a problem with it.

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A big problem.

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Andy's nice.

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I like him.

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But

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he's only been here for five months.

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I've been here for three years.

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And

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Andy's never managed anybody.

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I used to run my own business
before I took this job.

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I had sixteen people working for me.

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I know he didn't like it, but I've
known Andy for a long time.

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He's got a lot of potential...
he just needs some opportunity.

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Besides that, Marcos...

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well, he does a great job. But...

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there is something about
him that makes me

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very uncomfortable.

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What did the manager do wrong?

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I mean, it seemed like she was
trying to give Andy an opportunity

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to prove himself.

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One of the most important things
you have to remember as a manager

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is that every decision you
make involving your employees

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has to be based on job-related
reasons - without regard for things

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like age, race, religion, or gender.

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If you don't do that -

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for example -

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if you give somebody an opportunity
based on friendship,

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instead of qualifications -

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even if your friend does a good job -

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you run the risk of an employment
discrimination lawsuit

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if you passed on somebody
who might think your decision

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was based on their protected status.

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Here, the manager's
feelings of discomfort

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may be a sign of race discrimination
based on a team member with

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better qualifications for the task.

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So, Abbie, we've talked about
discrimination and equal employment laws.

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There are a couple of other concepts
in discrimination law we need to cover.

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Discrimination is making employment
decisions about others

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because of a personal characteristic
protected under the law.

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That's what we've been
talking about so far.

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Harassment occurs when a person is
subjected to unwelcome behaviors

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that are so severe or pervasive that
they interfere with their ability

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to do their job

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or create hostile working conditions.

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Courts have said harassment is
another type of discrimination

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that is also prohibited
by equal employment laws.

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Retaliation is an adverse
employment action

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that was motivated by
a person's protected activity.

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For example, an employee
being disciplined

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because they complained about something
they believed, in good faith,

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to be discrimination, harassment, or

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something else that's unlawful.

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Complaining like this
is a protected activity.

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So is participating in
a workplace investigation.

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into possibly unlawful conduct.

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All of these forms of discrimination
are based on the notion

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of fairness in the workplace.

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They're the results of
an applicant or employee

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being treated differently from
others based on things like

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gender, religion, race,

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complaints they made, and so
forth; and they're all illegal.

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I guess when you think about it,
that makes sense.

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Yep.

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And one of the most important
jobs of a manager

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is to make sure everyone
is treated fairly and with civility -

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not just because it's the law.

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But also, because, in my experience,
it's the best way to attract

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and retain good, productive people.

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To be clear, being "fair" does not mean

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always treating everyone
exactly the same.

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It means being impartial

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and equitable,

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where everyone gets what they
need to play on a level playing field,

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free from biases and stereotypes.

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Thanks, Vanessa. That really helps.