Title VII (Discrimination): (42 USC 2000e)

• Covers all companies with 15 or more employees (Note: in some cases, part-time or temporary workers, as well as leased employees or employees of affiliates, may be included to achieve coverage).
• Title VII prohibits discrimination due to race, color, religion, sex (gender), and national origin in hiring, employment (all terms, conditions and benefits), and termination. Prohibits discrimination due to pregnancy and requires that pregnancy be treated the same as any other non-work-related disability. Also bars retaliation against the person who made a complaint or assisted the complaining party.
• One of the key provisions is prohibition of sexual or racial/religious/ethnic harassment by supervisors, coworkers or even by third parties. Companies usually are strictly liable for discrimination by supervisors that results in tangible loss of job benefits. Otherwise, companies normally are liable only when the company failed to make reasonable efforts to stop the harassment (at least where the company had alerted employees to their right to complain and provided a reasonable avenue to receive complaints).
• Another key provision is prohibition of unintentional discrimination by use of requirements which have an adverse effect (disparate impact) on protected groups, such as use of educational requirements, tests or lifting restrictions which exclude disproportionate numbers of certain protected groups, unless the employer can prove that the requirements are job-related and that the use of these standards is required by business necessity.
• Enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and by state agencies in states that have comparable civil rights laws.
• Charges usually have to be filed within 180-300 days after act of discrimination, and EEOC has 180 days thereafter to process charge, after which employee can file suit. Employee also can sue within 90 days after receipt of notice of termination of proceedings by EEOC.
• Damages recoverable include back pay, reinstatement (or front-pay, if degree of hostility prevents reinstatement), damages for emotional distress and punitive damages for intentional bias (the combined totals for punitive and compensatory are capped, and range from $50,000 for companies with under 101 employees to $300,000 for employers with more than 500 employees).
• EEOC has issued extensive regulations which interpret this statute and also requires that display of a poster explaining rights under the act (a copy is available from the EEOC site).