Explain the main features of Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the
Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991
To begin with, Title VII is regarded as a federal law of 1964 that aims at protecting
employees against discrimination on the basis of race, nationality, color, sex, as well as religion.
The law makes it impossible for employers to discriminate the staff. The provision applies to
both public and private structures. Furthermore, it fostered the establishment of the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission responsible for defining the presence of discrimination
during the processes of hiring, recruiting, promoting, training, disciplining, transferring, as well
as providing benefits among others.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 was adopted to abolish wage disparity on the basis of sex.
The document rules that males and females should be given equal pay for the work that they
perform at the same workplace. The equality is determined with the account of job content rather
than job titles.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 serves as an amendment to Title VII that
prevents pregnancy-related discrimination. Such discrimination is regarded as illegal.
Consequently, the employers have no right to refuse hiring pregnant females as long as they are
capable of performing job functions. In case such females are temporarily not able to carry out
their job duties, they should be treated as other temporarily disabled staff.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 aims at banning discrimination against
individuals with disabilities. As a civil rights law, it prevents discrimination in all spheres of
public life, such as employment, educational establishments, transportation, as well as other
private and public places. The employers are obliged to offer reasonable accommodations for
such individuals.
The Civil Rights Act served as response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision that
restricted the rights of those workers who sued their employers for discrimination. The law offers
solutions for the issues of illegal employment harassment as well as purposeful discrimination.