Civil Rights Act of 1964 Was Landmark Term Paper

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.....