Federal Laws Affecting The Workplace

What is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII)?
Title VII is a federal law that prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

What is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)?
The ADEA prohibits employment discrimination based on age. Age is defined as at least forty years of age or older. Thus, it would not be a violation of the ADEA for an employer to refuse to hire an individual because that person was twenty-five years old. However, some state laws that prohibit age discrimination have a broader definition of the protected class; for example, Oregon prohibits age discrimination against any individual eighteen years of age or older.

What is Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment against persons with physical or mental disabilities.

What is the Rehabilitation Act?
The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination in employment against persons with disabilities, both physical and mental.

How is "Disability" defined?
The definition of the term "disability" is the same for both the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act. An individual with a disability is one who:
1.    has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity; or
2.    has a record of having such a physical or mental impairment; or
3.    is regarded as having such an impairment.

The definition includes any physiological impairment or any mental or psychological impairment that causes a substantial limitation to a major life activity. For example, a person with dyslexia has a disability, whereas a person who is illiterate does not; a person with skeletal dysplasias, such as dwarfism, has a disability, but a person who is short does not.

The second interpretation of the term includes persons who no longer have a disability, but who have a record of a disability, for example, a person who was diagnosed as having cancer, but in fact did not have or no longer has cancer.

The third interpretation includes persons who have a condition, which does not substantially limit their activity, but which the employer believes substantially limits their activity. For example, a worker who has high blood pressure is denied a promotion because the employer believes that the stress of the job would cause a heart attack.

What is the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)?
The NLRA addresses the role of unions in the workplace and prohibits discrimination in employment based on union activity.

What is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)?
The FLSA establishes minimum wage and overtime standards for employees and regulates the employment of children.

*The above information is merely a broad definition of the federal laws affecting the workplace. If you believe you may be a victim of workplace discrimination, please seek legal counsel. Contact the American Bar Association for a lawyer in your area.