Gender discrimination in the workplace
Gender discrimination in the workplace has been a significant issue in the United States. This situation has been associated with the different perception of individuals, especially the females who are not given equal opportunities to develop their careers in the work environment. The female has been discriminated on various bases ranging from age, wages, and promotion as well as in top management positions. Such aspects have raised significant issues considering that the United States is a democratic country and equality is an excellent aspect among the citizens. This subject has been addressed over the years in the push to develop fairness for the employees in American society. This aspect has enhanced been through the development of different policies which are considered to play a significant role in the attainment of equality throughout the American history. The development of discrimination practices to individuals based as gender, race and level of education are among the various issues which have led to the development of laws and policies which encourage equality in the workplace. Through the efforts of the different activists and the push from different stakeholders, the federal government and different states have developed different Connecticut laws prohibiting the various aspects of discrimination in the workplace.
Across the United States, different various federal and local statues have placed prohibitions towards any form of discrimination in the workplace (Farrior, 2017). Such aspects have provided a degree of protection towards employees who belong to a particular social class. Such prohibitions offer protection throughout the employment processes ranging from job advertisements, hiring process, placement, job classification, promotion, remuneration, layoffs and termination of employment. In this case, the law has provided effective measures to guide how such processes should be undertaken to ensure that the outcomes are fair, and according to the law of employment (Farrior, 2017). This situation shows how the law has advanced from the way individuals are treated in their course of work, and the various policies are considered to be an advancement of the different federal acts to enhance their effectiveness in aspects which were not covered during the initial development of the policies (Sperino & Thomas, 2017). As a measure to ensure that workers are not discriminated on any basis, the federal and states governments require that the different companies provide detailed records that show that their policies are not discriminative in any way whatsoever. This shows how the authorities have been in the front line to enhance equality in the employment sector which has been the case throughout the various historical times.
After the adoption of the American constitution, various Connecticut laws have been made to enhance to quality of life of the Americans. Such laws were considered useful in the prevention of discrimination of workers and are meant to cover both public and private employees who have employed three more employees. One of the most acknowledged law is the civil rights Act which was enacted in 1964 (Liuzzo & Hughes, 2019). This Act was developed to protect individuals from illegal discrimination. The Civil Rights Act is divided into different parts referred to as titles which address the various forms of discrimination (Sperino & Thomas, 2017). Title VII of the civil rights act discussed the aspect of workplace discrimination. The development of the civil rights activists led to the creation of the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) which is a federal agency in charge of dealing with the prohibition of employment discrimination (Liuzzo & Hughes, 2019). This commission takes legal actions towards companies which have been associated with the violation of the law. This law prohibits the aspect of discrimination on the forms of race, gender creed, religion and place of origin.
The development of civil rights Act was preceded by the Equal Pay Act (EPA), which was developed the previous year in 1963 (Liuzzo & Hughes, 2019). This Act is the first federal statute to be acquired by the federal government and which addressed the aspect of workplace discrimination against women (Sperino & Thomas, 2017). In this case, the Act prohibits employers from engaging against any form of wage discrimination based on sex. Due to this reason, the law pushes for equality in the advancements of payment in the workplace for individuals of all gender. Therefore, all employees working in the same position are expected to receive an equal amount of wages despite their sex (Liuzzo & Hughes, 2019). Despite the enhancement of equality as expressed by the law, the disparities in the wage level among the men and women are permissible. (Gregory, 2014). In this case, wages are based on the aspect of seniority or tenure in the specific organization. Failure of upholding the requirements of this law by any employer, a lawsuit is applicable anytime the employer practices pay discrimination.
Due to the changes in gender-based discrimination, mainly based on issues of pregnancy, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was developed in 1978 (Sperino & Thomas, 2017). This law was established after various Supreme Court cases were presented where women sued the existence of discrimination of pregnant women. This aspect was associated with the proceedings of the cases Geduldig v. Aiello lawsuit of 1974 where the deprivations of medical benefits to a pregnant woman were considered legal and General Electric v. Gilbert lawsuit of 1964 where the pregnancy was excluded from related disabilities (Farrior, 2017). The congress used such rulings to develop the pregnancy discrimination act, which prohibited any form of discrimination against pregnant women or women wanting to become pregnant. The pregnancy discrimination act prohibits any employer from discriminating against all female workers either pregnant or intended to be pregnant through termination threats, failure to hire or refusing to promote due to pregnancy (Gregory, 2014).
Connecticut, a law which it considers to shape the lives of residents, is perceived to play a significant role in the prevention of discriminatory practices in the workplace based on the aspect of gender. Besides, the law also provides an effective procedure to report the various cases of gender-based discrimination in the workplace (Farrior, 2017). Whenever one feels that they have been discriminated on the workplace due to their gender, they can relay their complaints to the commission of Human rights and opportunities which can enable them to place a lawsuit for the same. For a claim to be addressed, the case must be reported within 180 days from the day the alleged discrimination act was undertaken. Such complaints must be made in writing and under oath to ensure that the claim is real (Sperino & Thomas, 2017). The applications must be filed with the commission within the 180 days. The intake officer in the commission advises a legal action to be undertaken after listening to the claims of discrimination made (Gregory, 2014). If the complaint is taken, then the plaintiff will be given an appointment to go to the commission to file a claim which will be set for hearing.
The existence of aspects such as sexual orientation and gender identity is considered to be a significant challenge in the modern workplace. This situation has made the Supreme Court have a hard time explaining whether such aspects are protected in the Civil Rights Act or not. Since the Act does not address the element of sexual orientation or gender identity, the inclusion of the aspect would lead to changes in the charges associated with the issue. This situation is based on the fact that the development of such elements is a recent issue which was not there when the Act was developed (Gregory, 2014). Therefore, it would be wise if special laws are made to cater to these exceptional cases which have been made on different states to prohibit the discrimination of such individuals in the workplace. Therefore, the most effective way to address the subject is through the creation of new laws so as not to compromise the existing titles in the Civil Rights Act.
In conclusion, the aspect of workplace discrimination is has a long history in the United States. This aspect is associated with the development of various lawsuits which challenged the multiple issues of gender discrimination in the workplace. Due to this reason, numerous laws have been developed over the years to protect employees on various aspects of gender. This policy involves laws such as the Civil Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act and the pregnancy discrimination act which prohibit various forms of discrimination. The commission of human rights has been in the front line to take legal measures against companies which have undertaken any employment discrimination based on gender. Lastly, new laws should be developed or amendments made to the Civil Rights Act to address workplace issues associated with sexual orientation and gender identity.
References
Farrior, S. (Ed.). (2017). Equality and Non-Discrimination under International Law: Volume II (Vol. 2). Routledge.
Gregory, R. F. (2014). The Civil Rights Act and the Battle to End Workplace Discrimination: A 50 Year History. Rowman & Littlefield.
Liuzzo, A., & Hughes, R. (2019). Essentials of Business Law (10th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill Education.
Sperino, S. F., & Thomas, S. A. (2017). Unequal: How America’s Courts Undermine Discrimination Law. Oxford University Press.