The impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on 1964 Essay

The impact of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on 1964 - Essay Example However, Title VII of the act focuses primarily on discrimination within the workplace. This paper will explore Title VII of the 1964 legislation providing incidences, which may be protected under the law. Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act is a federal law, which deters discrimination in terms of employment on the basis of national origin, race, sex, color or religion. The law aims at protecting groups of people considered as vulnerable (Loevy, 1997). These groups include ethnic, racial, national, religious, and gender minorities within the workforce. The rights of these minority groups are protected to ensure that the groups attain similar treatment and rights as those in majority groups. The law typically applies to employers with at least 15 or more employees, consisting of local, federal and state employers. Notably, Title VII is applicable to institutions of higher learning colleges, labor organizations and employment agencies. Title VII essentially forbids discrimination i n employment, specifically on the basis of religion, sex, color, national origin or race. Title VII outlaws not only premeditated discrimination, but also disallow a number of practices, which have the consequence of discrimination against individuals termed as protected. ... In order to provide proof of the incident of unlawful discrimination, employees should demonstrate that the action in question centered primarily on the fact that the employee belongs to a protected category instead of a legitimate business choice. This means that employment discrimination falls into two categories; firstly, disparate treatment signifies an employer’s intentional discrimination. On the other hand, disparate impact actions refer to employer’s procedures, as well as policies, which encompass unintentional discriminatory effects. Regardless of the form discrimination takes; Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits it and requires employers to find ways to deter its occurrence. Notably, however, even in case an employee provides evidence to show that the employer’s actions constitute discrimination, the employer can justify the actions by showing that there was an inherent business necessity. Employers may also justify their discriminatory act ions were in relation t legitimate job qualifications. When employers make decisions on the basis of legitimate justifications, the burden of proof lies squarely on the employees to show that discrimination, rather than the employer’s justification was the basis of the action. Title VII affirms what constitutes unlawful employment practices, which include, among others, failure or refusal to hire or discharge an individual (Loevy, 1997). Alternatively, the piece of legislation also qualifies discriminatory actions as touching on aspects of an employee’s conditions, terms, privileges, compensation of employment as a consequence of such a person’s attributes. Discrimination also constitutes limiting, classifying and segregating applicants or