Essay About Civil Rights Act And Equal Pay Act

Employment Law Report
Employment Law Report  Sokchea NeangSeptember 19, 2016HRM/531 Virginia McMinnEmployment Law ReportEmployment within the United States have been a tumultuous road block for people of all age, color, sex, and background since the country took root. However, it was an especially difficult road for minorities like women, people of color, the elderlies, and any other minority that you can think of. The struggles that ensued in the last 200 years or so of American history has brought about many changes within American laws. Three of them are the Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). These laws were the product of the minorities that became the pinnacle of change that was needed in the United States in which their struggle became the milestone of change in American history and the capitalist society. The Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act which was amended in 1972 states, “an employer cannot discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin” (Dessler, 2017). Should an employer discriminate against an individual on any of these grounds then there are dire consequences. For example, lawsuits would be inevitable. The reputation of the company would also be harm in the process. The company would suffer major losses financially should their customers get wind of any lawsuits of any kind. Also, the trust that the company have with their employees would also suffer. Once the reputation of a company has been harm it is difficult to rebuild. Trust and integrity is one of the most implicit core of any company.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 which was also amended in 1972 states, “it is unlawful to discriminate in pay on the basis of sex when jobs involve equal work; require equivalent skills, effort, and responsibility; and are performed under similar working conditions” (Dessler, 2017). The Equal Pay Act is still controversial in that women still makes $.70 to every dollar compare to men but at least it put in a place a foundation for which women can fight for equality. Should an employer discriminate someone base on their gender then the company can face the same dire consequences as mention above under the Title VII act. The company would also be known as sexist and would bring controversy among feminist. Lastly, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) “made it unlawful to discriminate against employees or applicants who are between 40 and 65 years of age” (Dessler, 2017). The Age Discrimination Act help older employees from being target by management since some management believe that having a younger workforce would bring about a different cultural perspective in the workplace while also reducing cost since younger employees cost less due to their inexperience. However, this kind of mentality is amateur in its thought process because a business functioning on young and inexperienced employees will surely fail due to the main reason they were hired for: low cost. The litigation fees for a company should they be found guilty on these discrimination charges would face more fines than they would in trying to save.