Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:
Prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. Amended to cover pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Applies to all public and private employers with 15 or more employees. Enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Litigation under Title VII has produced 2 distinct legal theories of discrimination under Title VII: (1) disparate treatment; (2) disparate impact.
1) Disparate Treatment:
Plaintiff must prove that an employer intentionally discriminated against her/him by denying employment or a benefit on the basis of race, religion, sex, or national origin. Employee must prove that she/he was a member of a qualified class.
Employer can present evidence that it had legitimate, non-discriminatory grounds for its decision.
Employee can then argue that this evidence was only a pretext for unlawful discrimination.
2) Disparate
Impact
An employment practice, although neutral on its face, had a disparate impact on a protected group. To prove disparate impact, employee must demonstrate that the practice had caused a statistically significant disproportion between the effects on different groups.
Employer has defense of business necessity and job-related performance.
e.g., employer will only hire persons for security guard who are at least 5'8" tall and weigh 150 pounds. May discriminate against women, Asians.
Statutory
Defenses Under Title VII:
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification.
Employer may lawfully hire on the basis of religion, sex, or national origin if these characteristics are a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) necessary to the normal operation of that particular business. Employer has burden to prove that BFOQ is reasonable.
EEOC construes BFOQ very narrowly. For example, assumptions about the comparative employment characteristics of women in general are disallowed as are stereotyped characterizations of the sexes as are preferences of co-workers, employers, or customers for one sex or the other.
Source of much of this material: Constance E. Bagley. 1995. Managers and the Legal Environment (2d. ed). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing.
Copyright 2002, Doug Schuler
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