Employment

Labor and employment, being indispensable and important foundations of every society, are given extensive attention and are regulated by the U.S. government.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the government arm enforcing laws that aim to provide unprejudiced working environments for all U.S. workers. To this end, the EEOC provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.

Laws prohibiting job discrimination and which are being implemented by the EEOC include:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin


• Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination


• Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older


• Title I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments


• Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government


• Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination