Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Scope

The EEOC applies to most workplaces and covers all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, compensation, benefits, training, harassment, and more.

Regulatory citations

• None

Key definitions

• None

Summary of requirements

EEOC laws include the following:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), or national origin;
• The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 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;
• The ADA Amendments Act of 2008, which made it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he/she has a disability under the law.
• Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government; and
• The Civil Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
• The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which limits use of genetic information and tests, prohibits discrimination based on genetic information.

The EEOC enforces all of these laws and provides oversight and coordination of all federal equal employment opportunity regulations, practices, and policies.

Other federal laws, not enforced by EEOC, also prohibit discrimination and reprisal against federal employees and applicants. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA) contains a number of prohibitions, known as prohibited personnel practices, which are designed to promote overall fairness in federal personnel actions.

Discriminatory practices. It is illegal to discriminate on the basis of a protected characteristic in any aspect of employment, including:

• Hiring and firing;
• Compensation, assignment, or classification of employees;
• Transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall;
• Job advertisements;
• Recruitment;
• Testing;
• Use of company facilities;
• Training and apprenticeship programs;
• Fringe benefits;
• Pay, retirement plans, and disability leave; or
• Other terms and conditions of employment.

Discriminatory practices under these laws also include:

• Harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age;
• Retaliation against an individual for filing a charge of discrimination, participating in an investigation, or opposing discriminatory practices;
• Employment decisions based on stereotypes or assumptions about the abilities, traits, or performance of individuals of a certain sex, race, age, religion, or ethnic group, or individuals with disabilities; and
• Denying employment opportunities to a person because of marriage to, or association with, an individual of a particular race, religion, national origin, or an individual with a disability.

Title VII also prohibits discrimination because of participation in schools or places of worship associated with a particular racial, ethnic, or religious group.

Employers are required to post notices advising employees of their rights under the laws EEOC enforces and their right to be free from retaliation. Such notices must be accessible, as needed, to persons with visual or other disabilities that affect reading.

Note: Many states and municipalities also have enacted protections against discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, status as a parent, marital status, and political affiliation, etc.

Entities covered.

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act cover all private employers, state and local governments, and education institutions that employ 15 or more individuals. These laws also cover private and public employment agencies, labor organizations, and joint labor management committees controlling apprenticeship and training.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act covers all private employers with 20 or more employees, state and local governments (including school districts), employment agencies and labor organizations.
• The Equal Pay Act covers all employers who are covered by the Federal Wage and Hour Law (the Fair Labor Standards Act). Virtually all employers are subject to this Act.
• U.S.-based companies that employ U.S. citizens outside the United States or its territories, and multinational employers that operate in the United States or its territories, are covered under EEO laws, with certain exceptions.