Discrimination in the workplace is an issue that needs to be prevented. There are many anti-discrimination laws in place in California, on both the federal and state level, as well as many actions you as a company can take to create an equal opportunity workplace.
There are six main federal Anti-discrimination laws in the United States
- The Civil Rights Act of 1964, more specifically Title VII, outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
- The Age Discrimination Employment Act (ADEA) of 1967 forbids employment discrimination against anyone of the age of 40 or older.
- The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) forbids discrimination against employees based on genetic information.
- The Equal Pay Act (EPA) of 1963 prevents pay discrimination based on sex
- The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 expanded on the EPA by making every paycheck that delivers discriminatory pay illegal, regardless of when the discrimination began. This made it easier to take action once an employee realizes they are receiving discriminatory compensation.
- The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 prohibits discrimination based on disability.
Under California State law there is just one main anti-discrimination laws, The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). This outlaws harassment or employment discrimination, as well as denial of family or medical leave and discrimination in all aspects of housing, based on:
- Age (40+)
- Ancestry
- Race, color
- Creed
- Disability, mental and physical
- Marital status
- Medical condition
- National origin
- Religion, creed
- Sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions)
- Sexual Orientation
- Genetic information
- Gender identity, gender expression
- Military or veteran status
As a company, you can prevent discrimination or harassment in your workplace in several ways. The first step is to create an environment that encourages respect for employees. Putting anti-discriminatory policies and procedures into place is another step in the right direction. These policies,procedures and values should be emphasized during new employee orientation and ongoing training to understand them should be provided at all levels. It should be easy for employees to make reports about discrimination or harassment. Those complaints should be investigated thoroughly and responded to appropriately
Anti discrimination policies should state:
- that discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex(including pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity), national origin, disability, age(40 or older), and genetic information, as well as any other characteristic protected under your state law.
- you will provide reasonable accommodations for religious or medical reasons, as well as reasons applicable under your state law
- how employees can report discrimination
- employees will not be punished for reporting discrimination, being involved in a discrimination lawsuit or investigation, or opposing discrimination.
- that the confidentiality of employees that report discrimination or are involved in a discrimination lawsuit will be protected to the greatest possible extent
- employees or managers with human resource responsibilities are required to respond appropriately to discrimination or report it to somebody who is authorized to respond
- That you will provide thorough investigation of reports
- That you will provide corrective and preventive action when necessary
- The consequences of violating the anti discrimination policy
If you need help creating an anti-discrimination policy please reach out to us through our “Connecting with Meith” page on our website. Links to the anti discrimination laws will be on our “Stepping Stones” page in our “Resource and Knowledge Center” along with many other helpful links to help your business succeed.