Employment Law Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act

question

This assignment explores two key areas of employment law—Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA). Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) establishes guidelines related to minimum wage, overtime pay, record keeping, and child labor. Some companies find themselves facing legal challenges when they do not adhere to these key employment laws.

In your assignment, please address the following questions:

How does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protect you?
Research and analyze a case where a company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. What did the EEOC do?
How does the FLSA help to determine an employee’s pay?
The FLSA has had a number of amendments over the years. How would you change it to fit today’s business world?

answer

Introduction

Often times, this would occur in an employment decision. For example, due to racial stereotypes and prejudices, a minority worker is denied an opportunity for a promotion that would have him doing less strenuous work. In a more extreme case of disparate treatment, the employer may refuse to hire someone because they are of a certain race, claiming that his customers would prefer to do business with someone of a different race. This section of Title VII not only prohibits the aforementioned examples but also was designed to prohibit employers from separating employees or job classifications based on the discriminating causes, even if the employer does this without bad intent. This could quite possibly be the only law enacted to provide incentive to social change in the cause of a more favorable economic opportunity for the minority.

Historically, the rights of minorities and women to have equal opportunities in the workforce have been perceived as a serious social issue. As a result of changing social mores, it was necessary to undertake legislative action to correct the discrimination occurring in our nation. There is a long history of discrimination laws that both failed to provide an adequate remedy for the discrimination and an effective enforcement mechanism. The discriminatory acts were specifically covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII provides equal opportunity for employment and prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Although there are many sections to Title VII, only one has a direct impact on the policies affecting employment and incitement to cause change by the employer. This is covered under section 703, known as the “heart of Title VII”. This section makes it illegal for an employer to take any action with respect to the aforementioned discriminating causes. This includes the classifications and would be a reflection of the actual intent of Title VII.

This research paper will discuss the various aspects of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the United States. It will also put a great emphasis on the various deeds taken to prevent discrimination in the workplace, whether it be directly or indirectly pertaining to job policies. This paper will also discuss the impetus for economic change in the United States and in its workplaces. This would be the main reasoning behind the different policies that would be passed and developed to aid in the implementation of more job opportunities for minorities and women. Finally, this paper will look at where the law has recently gone and the various implications that the law will have in the upcoming years.

1.1 Overview of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

Title VII and the Civil Rights Act have been applied to a broad variety of employment relationships and practices, and the concept of covered employment is expansively defined. The Supreme Court has held that employees of state-owned and operated hospitals and schools are covered under Title VII. Additionally, Title VII applies to both employees and applicants for employment. An employer needing labor is able to recruit workers at home and abroad and a person seeking a job may be classified as a new applicant despite prior contacts with and consideration for the same job with the same employer. Given that many employers and workers in the United States are non-citizens, it is important to note that protection extends to all United States citizens whether immigrant or native-born, and also to all aliens employed in the United States. Title VII does not protect citizens from discrimination in employment outside of the United States. Foreign companies with American operations and American subsidiaries of foreign companies are also covered from national origin discrimination against citizens. Finally, the prohibition against discrimination applies with substantial force to recruitment and hiring practices given that an individual’s prospects in the working force are largely shaped by initial employment.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act embodies the federal government’s policy against employment discrimination. It applies to all employers involved in interstate commerce or foreign trade and to state and local governments; public and private; labor organizations; and employment agencies. Title VII itself prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and also proscribes retaliation against any individual who opposes discrimination or who has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in a proceeding under the act. The Civil Rights Act has been supplemented with legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, and on the basis of identification with a minority group through a practice known as “colorism.” Title VII states that foreigners are protected under the act if employed in the United States, however it is unclear whether foreigners employed outside of the United States but for American companies are covered under the act.

1.2 Overview of the Fair Labor Standards Act

Because of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act was produced. The FLSA is administered and enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor and affects an estimated 130 million workers, both full-time and part-time, in the private and public sectors. The Act applies to employees of enterprises which have an annual gross volume of sales of $500,000 or more, and also to employees of smaller firms if the employees are engaged in interstate commerce or in the production of goods for interstate commerce, or are employed in enterprises engaged in. The FLSA not only is the source of the federal minimum wage law and the requirement that premium pay be provided for time and one-half for overtime work, but has been used by employees as a vehicle to obtain enforcement of such employee rights as the equal pay for equal work provisions. In conjunction with Title VII, the Civil Rights Act, these statutes are aimed at eliminating discriminatory employment practices which have resulted in the payment of substandard wages to women and minority workers. This has been accomplished in part by court decisions interpreting the FLSA as to which wage differentials are lawful and which are discriminatory.

Protection under Title VII

2.1 Prohibition of Discrimination

2.2 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Case Study: Violation of Title VII

3.1 Researching and Analyzing a Title VII Violation Case

3.2 Actions Taken by the EEOC

Determining Employee’s Pay under the FLSA

4.1 Minimum Wage Guidelines

4.2 Overtime Pay Regulations

4.3 Record Keeping Requirements

4.4 Child Labor Restrictions

Amendments to the FLSA

5.1 Historical Amendments to the FLSA

5.2 Evaluating the FLSA for Today’s Business World

5.3 Proposed Changes to Fit Modern Employment Practices