Employment Discrimination Laws Quiz

Study Notes

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects individuals aged 40 and older from discrimination in employment.
The ADEA prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, and other employment conditions.
The ADEA covers harassment based on age, including offensive remarks, but not simple teasing or offhand comments.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities.
This law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities, unless doing so would cause undue hardship.
A reasonable accommodation might include making the workplace accessible or providing assistive equipment.
The ADA defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a history of such impairment, or a perceived impairment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) considers it illegal to publish job advertisements that show preference or discourage applications from certain groups.
Relying solely on word-of-mouth recruitment can result in an undiversified workforce, which is also illegal.
The four-fifths rule (or 80 percent rule) is used to determine if a selection process has an adverse impact on protected groups.
Adverse impact occurs when a seemingly neutral employment practice disproportionately disadvantages a protected group.

The Equal Pay Act requires equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender (male or female), focusing on job content rather than job title.
This law addresses salary, overtime pay, bonuses, stock options, profit sharing, and other forms of compensation.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) protects individuals from discrimination based on their genetic information, including family medical history.
GINA prohibits employers from seeking or using genetic information for employment decisions unless specifically permitted by law, such as required for workplace safety monitoring or mandated by law enforcement.
GINA also dictates how genetic information should be stored and handled.

The EEOC's religious discrimination law prohibits treating individuals unfavorably based on their religious beliefs or practices.
Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for religious observances or practices unless doing so would pose undue hardship.
Accommodations may include flexible scheduling, dress and grooming adjustments, and other reasonable modifications.

Sex discrimination involves treating someone unfavorably because of their sex, including hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, and fringe benefits.
Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.
It can occur between individuals of the same or opposite sex.

It is illegal to retaliate against individuals for filing a discrimination charge, complaining about discrimination, or participating in discrimination proceedings.
This applies to all types of discrimination covered by the EEOC laws mentioned, including age, disability, religious, gender, and sexual harassment.