Congress and most states have passed laws that require equal employment opportunity (EEO) by prohibiting discrimination. Most of the federal discrimination laws apply to companies with 15 or more employees. The age discrimination law applies to companies of 20 or more employees. Both apply to U.S. citizens working abroad for U.S. owned or controlled companies.

Read below for a general overview of this issue, or click here to see FAQs.

Most states have discrimination laws that apply to companies with fewer employees – California discrimination law applies to companies with 5 employees and New York and New Jersey laws apply to one-employee companies. So in addition to becoming familiar with federal law, its important to know the state law of the jurisdictions where you do business.

Equal employment opportunity means giving people a chance to succeed. It’s a law that codifies the fundamental principle of fairness.

Sometimes we forget why certain laws were passed. The federal Civil Rights Act was originally proposed by President Kennedy in 1963. That year, civil rights activist Medgar Evers was murdered, and four young girls died in the bombing of a Birmingham church. That was the year of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech at the March on Washington.

In 1963 discrimination against African Americans and other minorities was rampant. They did not have equal education. When they did, they were not hired equally. When they were hired, they were not paid equally, they were not promoted equally and they were harassed.

The law was introduced in Congress in 1963, but it languished there amid political debate. Then on November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was assassinated. Five days later, Lyndon Johnson gave his first address as President before both houses of Congress. He challenged Congress to pass the law as a ‘living memorial’ to President Kennedy. It passed within a few months, to become the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The law attempts to achieve equal employment opportunity for all by prohibiting discrimination. Since the Civil Rights Act new federal and/or state laws have been passed to afford protection under discrimination laws based on disability, medical leave, sexual orientation, and pregnancy. Indeed the ripples of the 1964 Civil Rights law continue to expand our horizon of what it means to provide equal employment opportunity for all.

Click here for Discrimination FAQs.