Civil Rights Act of 1964 enforced the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution by ensuring a legislative act that would prevent discrimination and extend equal protection under the law. The bill in its entirety protects all Americans, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national background, and gender. It was and still is considered to be a landmark bill, in spite of the fact that the Fourteenth Amendment already technically guarantees equal protection to all citizens of the United States. However, practice and theory are different beasts. President Johnson understood this, and foresaw the need to push forward legislation that would create a more perfect union offering liberty and justice to all people.
The Civil Rights Act was surprisingly controversial, in a nation that prided itself on its values of equality and freedom. It took centuries for females and non-whites to have voting privileges in the United States. The battle for true equality was long and hard fought. Civil rights bills had been passed and ignored since the end of the Civil War; but Reconstruction had been thoroughly deconstructed by racist lawmakers. In 1943, an attempt at civil rights law was made in Congress but failed to pass in the Senate. Congress continued trying to pass a civil rights bill, but committee after committee shot them down. There were simply too many bigoted lawmakers in Washington, and equal protection remained a dream.
Finally, the election of John F. Kennedy to the office of Presidency coincided with the deep and radical changes taking place in American society. Values, norms, and beliefs shifted with the youth and counterculture movements throughout the United States and Western Europe. The hypocrisy of injustice in all its forms, including racism and sexism became less tolerated and less normative. By 1963, the American people and its lawmakers were finally ready for a real push forward and genuine social progress. Martin Luther King, Jr. And other African-American activists were aligned with the cause of women too.
In 1963, amid increasing pressure from the American people, President Kennedy helped to draft the Civil Rights Act. Even the changing tide of the times could not deter the bigots in Washington to embrace the constitutional rights of non-white citizens and females. It took nearly a year for Congress to concede, and unfortunately it also took the assassination of President Kennedy to encourage lawmakers to take the great leap forward that they did in 1964, when the Civil Rights Bill was finally passed on February 10.
One of the most important provisions of the Civil Rights Act is Title VII, which makes it unlawful for any employer to engage in discriminatory practices defined, in part, as follows:
1. To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
2. To limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
(Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 covers employment agencies, labor unions, training programs,
Hostile Work Environment: According to the 1993 decision of the United States Supreme Court in "Harris v. Forklift Systems Inc.," hostile environment harassment occurs when "the workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment" (Cross and LeRoy Miller 497). Facts of the Case: In 1986, Teresa Harris, who was
Civil Rights Act of 1964 was landmark legislation in the United States. The original purpose of the Bill was to protect black men from job-related and other discrimination, but it was later expanded to include protection for women. As a result, it provided political momentum for feminism. This Act prohibited discrimination in public facilities, in government, and in employment. The Jim Crow laws in the South were finally discarded, and
Case AnalysisCase 1: Palmateer v. International Harvester Company,85 Ill. 2d 124, 421 N.E.2d 876 (1981)Parties: In the case of Palmateer v. International Harvester Company, the plaintiff was an employee of the defendant company.Facts: The facts of the case revolved around the plaintiff's claim that he had been wrongfully terminated from his position for helping law enforcement by being essentially a whistleblower on the company.Issue: The issue at stake was whether
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Evolution of Employee Rights in the Modern Workplace This essay topic invites an exploration of how employee rights have changed over time, particularly in response to the shifts in the economy, technology, and social values. It can examine key milestones and legislation that have contributed to the protection of workers, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and recent discussions around
Equal Opportunity The most important piece of legislation concerning equal opportunity is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act, in particular Title VII, provides the framework for several equal opportunity acts to follow, and established that workplaces should be free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin (U.S. EEOC, 2014). The legal framework of this act has been extended with several other acts that
Equal Opportunity Has the cultivating of equal opportunity programs helped the people of South Africa, and the people of the United States, move forward? The answer to the question would appear to be obvious -- given that equal opportunities have the potential to make life fair and just for any society. However, the facts do not back up the appearances of "equal opportunities" -- and this paper delves into the question
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