The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a pivotal law that empowered minorities and dismantled barriers in the workplace. Here's what employers need to know.

Breaking Down Workplace Barriers for More than 60 Years

Prior to 1964, workplace discrimination was widespread. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 changed that. Passed on July 2, 1964, this landmark federal civil rights and labor law outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), and national origin. It also led to the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which upholds and enforces the anti-discrimination laws under the Act.    

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act focuses on the workplace and combating discrimination across a wide range of employment practices, including hiring and firing, compensation, training, classification of workers, promotions, layoffs, recruitment ads, benefits, and more. It also makes it unlawful for an employer to take negative action or retaliate against an employee.

Title VII's anti-discrimination laws apply to private and public employers with 15 or more employees, and protect part-time, full-time, seasonal and temporary workers and in some cases, volunteers. 

Reporting Workforce Demographics. Annual reporting is an important part of  ensuring Title VII compliance. Private employers with 100 employees or more, along with federal contractors with at least 50 employees, are required to file an EEO-1 Component 1 Report. This mandatory workforce demographic report requires information about employees by job category, sex, race, or ethnicity and must be submitted annually to the EEOC. 

Examples of Discrimination in the Workplace 

While significant progress has been made in the 60 years since the Act was signed into law, there's still much work to be done. Here are a few examples of discrimination in the workplace.

• Racial Discrimination. Research shows that a large majority of minorities feel pressured to assimilate at work in order to succeed. Take, natural hair for example. According to a recent survey, 66% of Black women said they had altered their hair for a job interview, while 25% said they believed they had been passed over for a job interview because of their hair. Under Title VII, an employer may not ask an employee to change or conceal their skin color or ask an employee to change any other personal characteristics associated with race, such as their natural hair texture.

• Religious Discrimination. Employers must provide employees reasonable accommodations based on the religious practices, such as allowing Muslims prayer time during the day, or providing alternative types of safety equipment for workers who maintain beards in accordance with certain religious beliefs.

• National Origin. Under the Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against an employee because of birthplace, ancestry, culture, or linguistic characteristics common to a specific ethnic group, such as sending a coworker a racist joke.

• Discriminatory Hiring Practices. Failure to ensure fair and unbiased hiring processes, such as biased interview questions or discriminatory help wanted ads are in violation of Title VII. This also applies to the use of AI.  Colorado has taken the lead as the first state to pass legislation addressing AI-based discrimination and similar laws have been proposed in other states as well as at the federal level. Employers should prepare for the possibility of new compliance mandates concerning the use of AI in hiring. 

• Gender Discrimination. A California staffing agency faced a hefty $2.2M penalty for directing candidates to specific roles based on their gender. The firm excluded non-Hispanic candidates from positions at a laundry facility with a predominantly Hispanic/Latino workforce. The agency also placed workers into gender-specific roles, like assigning heavy tasks to men and lighter duties to women. Title VII safeguards employees from gender discrimination, including sex, pregnancy, childbirth, related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

• Hostile Work Environment. Creating a toxic work environment by allowing discriminatory, intimidating, or offensive behavior in the workplace can have severe consequences. Examples include tolerating the use of sexual or racial slurs, whether sung, shouted, whispered, broadcasted, or communicated face-to-face. Under Title VII, employers may be held accountable for harassment if they were aware of or should have known about the misconduct and failed to take swift and appropriate action.

• Retaliation. Title VII protects workers from facing repercussions for reporting violations, participating in an investigation, or opposing illegal employment practices. This protection extends to actions such as withholding promotions, rejecting job offers, denying benefits, demotions, suspensions, or terminations. In addition, it also covers threats, reprimands, negative assessments, reduced hours, withheld training opportunities, transfers, and exclusion from workplace interactions.

➡️➡️READ MORE:  Compliance Issues That Can Cost Your Business

Preventing Workplace Discrimination

In 2023, the EEOC received 81,055 new charges of workplace discrimination, a more than 10% increase over FY 2022. More than $665 million was secured for more than 22,000 victims of employment discrimination, including more than $440.5 million for individuals in private sector and state and local government workplaces, and filed 143 lawsuits — an increase of more than 50% over FY 2022.

As discrimination continues, it's important for employers to understand their obligations under the Civil Rights Act and Title VII. Here are a few steps to ensure an inclusive workplace and maintain compliance:

Educate Staff.  Establish a training program that helps all employees understand EEOC laws, workplace discrimination and ways to promote inclusion. Also, include bias training to help staff identify and understand any conscious or subconscious prejudices, such as gender and age bias.

Create Anti-discrimination and Anti-harassment Policies. Include information about the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII and related workplace policies in your employee handbook to help employees understand their rights and what’s expected of them. Policies should detail your workplace rules, internal policies, examples of prohibited conduct, and complaint process. 

Update Required Workplace Notices. Applicable employers are required to post EEOC workplace notices or face a $680 penalty 

Check State and Local Laws. In addition to federal laws, state and local employment laws may provide additional discrimination protection, so it’s important for employers, of all sizes, to understand their responsibilities. On July 1, 2024, Vermont joined 23 other states in passing employment laws that update the definition of race, specifically addressing hair. Ensure compliance by reviewing your workplace anti-discrimination and harassment policies, dress codes, and other workplace policies and procedures.

➡️➡️READ MORE:  How to Prepare for Benefits Renewal

Review Hiring and Compensation Practices. In addition protections related to hiring and promotions, the law also covers actions affecting the terms of employment. For example, employers cannot pay one employee more than another for the same role.

Determine whether your employment practices are in compliance. Review all job descriptions and ensure selection criteria are inclusive. Internally, communicate job openings and the requirements for promotions to all eligible workers.

Seek Expert Guidance. Understand your responsibilities under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title VII. And even if you're a small businesses with fewer than 15 employees, you may still have legal responsibilities under federal employment anti-discrimination laws.

One way to prevent a compliance misstep is by working with an IRS-certified PEO, like Propel HR. A PEO's team of experts stays current on HR compliance and helps employers comply with all federal employment laws, including state laws in all 50 states.

THE COUNTDOWN TO RENEWAL IS HERE!

If you're planning to renew or make changes to your employee benefits plan, watch our new ▶️ Benefits Benchmark Report for valuable insights into the latest employee benefits trends. Conducted by Milliman, one of the world's largest independent actuarial and consulting firms, this annual study includes 2.7 million workers within 30,000 employers across the country. 

You'll learn:

Review the full 2024 Benefits Benchmark Report ▶️ HERE.

🎯Understanding benefits trends leads to more informed and strategic open enrollment decisions, better utilization, and a more satisfied workforce. And if you need help finding the right options for your small business, we're here to help. Just call us at (800) 446-6567.

About Propel HR. Propel HR is an IRS-certified PEO that has been a leading provider of human resources and payroll solutions for more than 25 years. Propel partners with small to mid-sized businesses to manage payroll, employee benefits, compliance and risks, and other HR functions in a way that maximizes efficiency and reduces costs. For more information, visit www.propelhr.com.