Police Misconduct/Prisoner Rights
Introduction
Experience
Philosophy
Employment Discrimination
Introduction
Experience
Philosophy
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Introduction
For most of our nation’s history, employees had virtually no rights vis-à-vis employers other than
what was put into an individual written employment agreement or a union contract. To this day,
in fact, with a few important exceptions, most employees are governed by the “at-will” doctrine of
employment, according to which an employer can hire, fire, or demote an employee for a good
reason, a bad reason, or no reason at all. However, beginning in 1964, when President Lyndon
Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law, Congress has enacted a series of statutes
that protect employees against many kinds of discrimination in employment, the most important
of which may be summarized as follows:
Name of Statute
Title VII, Civil Rights Act of 1964
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 |
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Discrimination Prohibited
Race, color, religion, sex, national origin
Age
Handicap (federal employment)
Disability (non-federal employment) |
The historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 also created a federal agency, the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) with the responsibility of investigating alleged violations of
Title VII of that Act. The EEOC later assumed investigative authority over complaints filed
under the other statutes listed above as well as several other federal statutes.
A person aggrieved by an employment-related decision who wishes to file a lawsuit based on an
alleged violation of one of these statutes must first file a complaint with the EEOC or with an
equivalent state-level agency, such as the Maryland Commission on Human Relations or the
District of Columbia Office of Human Rights, referred to as Fair Employment Practices
Agencies. Strictly enforced EEOC regulations, such as a presumptive 180 deadline for filing
complaints of discrimination, govern all complaints alleging violations of federal such
complaints and pose pitfalls even for attorneys who normally practice employment law.
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