Discrimination in the private sector is not directly constrained by the Constitution, but has become subject to a growing body of federal and state law, including the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Federal law prohibits discrimination in a number of areas, including recruiting, hiring, job evaluations, promotion policies, training, compensation and disciplinary action.
Under federal employment discrimination law, employers generally cannot discriminate against employees on the basis of race,[1] sex[1][2] (including sexual orientation and gender identity),[3] pregnancy,[4] religion,[1] national origin,[1] disability (physical or mental, including status),[5][6] age (for workers over 40),[7] military service or affiliation,[8] bankruptcy or bad debts,[9] genetic information,[10] and citizenship status (for citizens, permanent residents, temporary residents, refugees, and asylees).
The Fifth Amendment has an explicit requirement that the federal government does not deprive individuals of "life, liberty, or property", without due process of the law.
It also contains an implicit guarantee that the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly prohibits states from violating an individual's rights of due process and equal protection.
[citation needed] Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in many more aspects of the employment relationship.
Title VII prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
Employment agencies may not discriminate when hiring or referring applicants, and labor organizations are also prohibited from basing membership or union classifications on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Since 1978, the ADEA has phased out and prohibited mandatory retirement, except for high-powered decision-making positions (that also provide large pensions).
A disability is defined under the ADA as a mental or physical health condition that "substantially limits one or more major life activities.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
[22] Prior to the Bostock decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interpreted Title VII to cover LGBT employees; the EEOC's determined that transgender employees were protected under Title VII in 2012,[23] and extended the protection to encompass sexual orientation in 2015.
[26] Almost half of the United States also have state-level or municipal-level laws banning the discrimination of gender non-conforming and transgender people in both public and private workplaces.
Some laws extend similar protection as provided by the federal acts to employers who are not covered by those statutes.
The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 prohibits discrimination in federal employment on the basis of conduct that does not affect job performance.
Employers are generally allowed to consider characteristics that would otherwise be discriminatory if they are bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ).
For instance, if police are running operations that involve confidential informants, or undercover agents, sending an African American officer into a sting for a KKK white supremacy group.
[97] Employers also carry the burden to show that a BFOQ is reasonably necessary, and a lesser discriminatory alternative method does not exist.
It also includes treating individuals differently in their employment because of their lack of religious belief or practice” (Workplace Fairness).
On the other hand, employees are protected by the law for reporting job discrimination and are able to file charges with the EEOC.
[101] Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 explicitly permits discrimination against members of the Communist Party.
[102][103][104] In the article posted on the PBS website, Henry Louis Gates Jr. writes about the way in which black men were treated in the military during the 1940s.
The National Geographic website states, however, that when black soldiers joined the Navy, they were only allowed to work as servants; their participation was limited to the roles of mess attendants, stewards, and cooks.
[105] The law also prohibits employers from discriminating against employees for past or present participation or membership in the uniformed services.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment practices that have a discriminatory impact, unless they are related to job performance.
[108] When defending against a disparate impact claim that alleges age discrimination, an employer, however, does not need to demonstrate necessity; rather, it must simply show that its practice is reasonable.
[114] Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, each agency has and enforces its own regulations that apply to its own programs and to any entities that receive financial assistance.
[16] The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) enforces the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C.