General Resources:  Chapters from Open Educational Resources Textbooks

Reading:  Employment Discrimination, Chapter 12 of the Legal and Ethical Environment of Business by Lau and Johnson.

Readings & Videos:  Introduction to Employment Discrimination.  This link takes you to the first of roughly 30 videos and readings on Employment Discrimination in Prof. Jason Gordon’s The Business Professor textbook.

Reading:  Employment Law Chapter 50, Business Law and the Legal Environment by Warner, Mayer, etal.   The first half of the chapter is on Employment discrimination, while the second half discusses employment-at-will and federal worker protection statutes.

Other General Resources

Website: EEOC Summary of Laws   Provides a one-paragraph summary of each of the major EEO laws.

Website:  EEOC Laws and Guidance    This website provides links to laws, regulations, policy guidance, fact sheets, best practices, and other information, organized by the type of discrimination

Video:  Major Employment Discrimination Laws by Prof Jason Gordon (3:18). Prof. Gordon gives a brief overview of the main federal EEO laws.

Website:  Coverage of Business/Private Employers.  On a single page, the EEOC specifies the minimum number of employees private businesses must have to be subject to Title VII, ADA, and GINA, the ADEA, and the Equal Pay Act.

Website:  EEOC Discrimination by Type   This website provides links to each type of discrimination protected by federal law, so you can quickly look up discrimination based on age, disability, pregnancy, retaliation, etc.  Linking to one of the identified topics will provide additional information on pertinent laws and regulations, policy guidance, fact sheets, best practices, and other information.

Website:  EEOC Publications  This website provides links to the “EEOC is the Law” poster, fact sheets on each type of prohibited discrimination, and information about all the statutes administered by the EEOC. 

Title VII:  Prohibited Discrimination

Video:  Employment Discrimination Under Title VII  (1:57). Prof Gordon gives a brief overview of Title VII and types of prohibited employment discrimination.

Website:  Prohibited Employment Practices   The EEOC provides a helpful list, resources and links to detail what current employment practices prohibited by Title VII in job ads, recruitment, application and hiring, background checks, job assignments and promotions, pay and benefits, discipline and discharge and several other topics, as well as specific types of discriminatory practices prohibited by EEO laws.

Reading:  Law Only Applies to Companies with 15 or More Employees    (2011).  This blog reminds us that companies with fewer than 15 employees are not subject to Title VII.

Discrimination During the Pre-Employment and Hiring Process

Reading:  What Can’t I Ask When Hiring?  On this page, the EEOC identifies specific questions employers are prohibited from asking job applicants.  

Reading:  What Shouldn’t I Ask When Hiring?  In this companion piece, the EEOC identifies questions that it recommends employers not ask of prospective employees.

Reading:  EEOC Guide on Pre-employment Inquiries   The EEOC provides a 2-page table, organized by categories of questions, permissible questions within those categories, and questions that may be discriminatory.  

Reading:  Social Media in the Workplace — State Law. The Blanchard-Walker law firm identifies 25 states that have enacted laws regarding employer access to employee and job applicant usernames and passwords, updated in 2023.  

Theories, Defenses, and Remedies

Video:  Theories of Employment Discrimination (4:14)  Video prepared for a paralegal studies program explains three theories of employment discrimination.

Reading:  Bona Fide Occupational Qualification.  Findlaw’s legal team defines this concept and provides examples of when it has been used as a defense to discrimination. (updated October 25, 2023).

Reading: Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Law and Legal Definition.  This reading provides another explanation of BFOQ with more examples.

Video:  Disparate Impact in Employment Discrimination  (4:09). In this video, Prof Gordon provides an overview of Title VII’s disparate impact theory of employment discrimination.

Video:  Discrimination by Disparate Impact  (4:42). Prof Gordon gives some examples of disparate impact claims under Title VII.

Reading:  Emotional distress damages in employment discrimination and harassment cases.  This Bachman law firm blog explains what emotional distress damages are, how to prove them, and the pros and cons of seeking them in a Title VII case.

Reading:  Know the Defenses to Employment Discrimination   A quick guide to several affirmative defenses a business may raise when faced with a claim of employment discrimination.

Reading:  The “For Good Cause” Defense to a Discrimination Claim   What is the “good cause” defense and what are some of the best practices that make the good cause defense to a discrimination claim successful?

Video:  When can an individual file an employment discrimination lawsuit and what are the remedies? (0:49). This brief video discusses the requirements that must be met prior to filing an EEO suit, as well as the remedies the plaintiff can seek.

Race and Color Discrimination

Website:  EEOC on Race and Color Discrimination   This website provides a very brief explanation for the difference between discrimination based on race and discrimination based on color, as well as an overview of race/color discrimination in employment practices or harassment.

Video:  Race Discrimination Under Title VII (2:31). Prof Gordon overviews race and class as protected classes under Title VII.

Reading:  Race Discrimination (Workplace Fairness).  In looking at discrimination against workers because of their race, this website also has links to more information on theories of discrimination, racial slurs as discrimination, whether an employee can be discriminated against because a spouse or friends are of a different race, reverse discrimination, and other issues.

Discrimination Based on Appearance? 

Reading:  Dress Codes and Grooming Policies in the Workplace: What’s Allowed?  (updated July 2023). 

Reading:  Illegal Workplace Policies: Appearance, Dress Codes, and Grooming Policies  This brief Nolo reading looks at a number of policies (e.g., shaving, tattoos and piercings, hair length, Crown Laws on ethnic hairstyles, etc.)

Reading:  Let Them Grow Beards: UPS Relaxes Rules On Drivers’ Facial Hair  (Nov 2020).  UPS told employees the changes were part of part of an effort to “celebrate diversity rather than corporate restrictions.”

National Origin Discrimination

Reading:  EEOC on National Origin Discrimination (brief summary of law)

Reading:  EEOC Employment Rights of Immigrants Under Federal Anti-Discrimination Laws   This EEOC Fact Sheet addresses a number of aspects of discrimination based on national origin or ancestry, such as English-only policies, discrimination based on appearance or accent, etc.

Reading:  EEOC Questions and Answers for Employers   Responsibilities Concerning the Employment of Individuals Who Are, or Are Perceived to Be, Muslim or Middle Eastern.

Video:  National Origin Discrimination Explained  (1:41). Prof Gordon explains how national origin discrimination differs from other protected classes.

Reading:  What do I need to know about English-only rules?  This US Department of Labor website explains when English-only rules may be permissible and when they are not, citing to EEOC regulations.

Reading: English-only workplace rules: both discriminatory and disengaging?  (2018). This article discusses English-only policies under EEOC and California rules, with examples.

Religious Discrimination

Reading:   EEOC on Religious Discrimination. (another short and clear summary of the law, this time related to discrimination based on religion).  The website has been updated since the Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, which clarified that it takes more than showing a “de minimis cost” to establish undue hardship under Title VII. Instead, the burden must be substantial in the overall context of an employer’s business,

Video:  Religious Discrimination Under Title VII  (2:49). Another video by Prof Gordon explaining discrimination based on religion under Title VII.

Video:  What Employers Need to Know about Disability and Religious Accommodation for Employees (6:26). Video summarizes employer expectations, how the law applies, and possible workplace accommodations.

Reading:  Religion and Your Job Rights.  This one-page Youth-at-Work Fact Sheet was issued by the EEOC in 2016 and provides easy-to-understand examples of religious discrimination.

Reading:  Appearance Discrimination:  Is it Illegal?   This 2020 article provides several examples, as well as recent state laws that prohibit discrimination based on hairstyle.

Sex Discrimination

Reading:  EEOC on Sex-Based Discrimination

Reading:  Women in the Workplace 2023  (Report by McKinsey & Company; Lean In):  The 52-page full report, which is updated annually, can be downloaded as a PDF.  

Reading:  Sex/Gender Discrimination   Workplace Fairness provides a series of links that examine discrimination involving sex and gender, when a BFOQ may apply, height and weight requirements, remedies and other topics.

Sex Discrimination:  Pregnancy Discrimination

Reading:  EEOC of Pregnancy Discrimination and Pregnancy-Related Disability Discrimination

Reading:  EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination  This Guidance was issued before the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022, which took effect in June 2023.   That act is explained in the next reading.  You can learn more about the act on the EEOC’s website at What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Reading:  Pregnant workers get a major win. How to follow that up (opinion by V. Shabo for CNN June 30, 2023).  This article discusses the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (2023), which requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodation” to pregnant workers unless doing so would impose an “undue hardship,” and the Pump For Nursing Mothers Act (December 2022) that expanded the rights female workers to breaks to pump breastmilk for one year following the birth of a child.  

Reading:  EEOC Press Release (Nov 2022):  Ford Motor Company to Pay $115,000 to Settle EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination Case, where the applicant had been conditionally hired, was qualified, and passed a company physical.    

Reading and Video: Trader Joe’s accused of pregnancy discrimination, retaliation in federal lawsuit.      This report by ABC News on September 2023 explores allegations that Trader Joe’s revoked her health insurance policy after she went on maternity leave.

Harassment

EEOC Chart:  Chart of Risk Factors for Harassment and Responsive Strategies

Video:  Harassment Prevention Made Simple.  (5:51).  It’s important that an employer not only stop harassment when it occurs but also prevent it before it happens!

Reading:  Sexual harassment at work can cost survivors up to $1.3 million over a lifetime This July 23, 2021 story on Marketwatch.com summarizes the July 2021 report by Time’s Up and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research on some of the direct and less visible costs of sexual harassment, including “job loss and unemployment, lower earnings, missed opportunities for advancement, forced job changes, and loss of critical employer-sponsored benefits like health insurance and pension contributions.”  These costs can limit employment opportunities and have a long-term economic impact, particularly for those in low-wage jobs.   

Sexual Harassment

Reading:  Quid Pro Quo Harassment vs Hostile Work Environment Harassment.  This 2021 post by a law firm explains the difference between these two types of harassment and how you should respond if you encounter either form of harassment at work.

Reading:  The “Severe and Pervasive” Standard Promotes Sexual Harassment.  This March 2020 blog post argues that the standard for proving a hostile environment is so strict that it may encourage harassment.  In fact, California has even abandoned this standard in sexual harassment cases in favor of requiring a plaintiff to show that “the harassing conduct sufficiently offends, humiliates, distresses, or intrudes upon its victim, so as to disrupt the victim’s emotional tranquility in the workplace, affect the victim’s ability to perform the job as usual, or otherwise interfere with and undermine the victim’s personal sense of well-being.”

Reading:  How Sandra Day O’Connor Changed Sexual Harassment Law.  This 2018 law firm blog post explains Justice O’Connor’s role in the 1993 Harris v. Forklift case which set the “severe and pervasive” standard in sexual harassment cases.

Reading:  Sexual Harassment in our Nation’s Workforce (EEOC April 2022).  This article examines EEOC’s most recent sexual harassment charge data (for fiscal years 2018 and 2021).  For example, it looks at the percentage of all sexual harassment claims that are filed by women (78.2%), the numbers of concurrent sexual harassment and race discrimination charges, and concurrent sexual harassment and retaliation charges, etc.  Notably, Georgia is among the top 10 with the most sexual harassment claims per 10,000 in population over the age of 16. 

Older Reading: EEOC Task Force Report on Harassment in the Workplace   (June 2016). Although 95 pages long, the Executive Summary is only 1 page and provides a good overview of the report.  The Task Force reconvened in 2018, but has not yet issued an updated report.

Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Videos:

Video:   David Schwimmer’s Sexual Harassment Series:

The Boss (4:42)
o The Co-Worker (3:48)
o The Doctor (4:24)
o The Photographer (3:40)
o The Actor (5:31)

Video:  Sexual Harassment Prevention Training Video – 2023  (54:05).  This video was produced by the New York State Department of Labor for use by employers who are required to provide mandatory training on preventing sexual harassment every year.  

Video:  A Sexual Harassment Training Video (6:22)   challenges the excuses employees often give for why they don’t need such training.

Video:  Sexual Harassment video training films   This series has 6 videos narrated by a professional trainer and paramedic.  They range from 2:57 minutes to 5:33 minutes in length to explain what sexual harassment is, how to stop it, and the employer’s responsibility to prevent it from occurring in the workplace.  The final video is called Diversity in the Workplace.

For more on sexual harassment in the tech industry, scroll down to Want to Learn More?  Sexual Harassment in the News

Equal Pay Act

Reading:  EEOC on Equal Pay/Compensation Discrimination

Reading: Gender pay gap now the narrowest on record.  This July 2023 report by Axios says that women now earn 85% of what men earn.   

Reading:  Women still earn less than men. 6 leaders explain what’s needed to close the gap (March 15, 2022 — Equal Pay Day).  Janet Yellen, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and female CEOs of  Walgreens, TIAA, and UPS discuss what they think needs to be done to narrow the pay gap.  According to the US Census Bureau, women make 83 cents for every dollar men earn, compared to 77 cents a decade ago.

Reading:  Female MBA grads earn $11,000 less than male peers on Day 1 of new job (CBS News, September 2021).  In addition to data that shows the pay gap for female MBA graduates widening as their careers progress, until it reaches about $60,000 after a decade.  In addition to data and analysis of the MBA pay disparity, this article also has two short videos, one on the history of the gender pay gap and a second on the Equal Pay Day for black women in 2021.

Video:  The Equal Pay Act of 1963 by Prof Jason Gordon (3:46)

Reading:  Pay Equity and State-by-State Laws (updated May 2022).  This article lists each state that has a wage discrimination or equal pay statute, as well as its basic provisions.  Georgia’s version of the federal Equal Pay Act can be found in the Georgia Code sections dealing with sex discrimination in employment.

ADEA

Reading:  EEOC on Age Discrimination

Reading:  11th Circuit Removes Protections for Older Job Applicants.  This post by a law firm explains the impact of Villarreal v R. J. Reynolds Tobacco (2016), which ruled that the ADEA applies only to employees, not job applicants.  Congress has introduced the Protect Older Job Applicants Act annually for the past few years, most recently in May 2023, but it has yet to be passed and signed into law.  

Video:  An Overview of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act by Prof Jason Gordon (2:25)

Reading:  The American workplace’s bias against age.  This September 2023 story by Axios looks at ageism and some of the lasting impacts that COVID had on older workers.

Reading:  Age Discrimination Cases Increasing in Severity (July 2021).  According to a 2019 Hiscox survey, employees over the age of 55 will make up about 25% of the US workforce by 2024.   This article published by Advisen looks at the data showing the cost to companies of losses caused by age discrimination and breaks down those losses further by industry.

Reading and Video:  Age discrimination in the workplace starts as early as 35   (PBS Newshour, January 2016). Though discrimination based on age may occur for those under the age of 40, the ADEA doesn’t protect these younger workers.

ADA

Reading:  EEOC on Disability Discrimination     

ADA Update:  A Primer for Small Business   (updated February 2020)

Infographic:  Disability Impacts All of Us.  The CDC estimates that 61 million adults in the US (26%) have a disability, with the highest percentage of people living with disabilities located in the South.  Updated as recently as May 2023, the Infographic breaks down the data by type of disability, gender, age, and ethnicity, in addition to location.

Video:  The Americans with Disabilities Act by Prof Jason Gordon (5:23). . Prof Gordon describes the ADA and how it complements Title VII.

Video/Transcript:  The ADA at 30  (5:38)  On July 27, 2020, the PBS NewsHour looked back on the impact the ADA has had on Americans with disabilities.  Following brief personal statements from individuals with disabilities, the news segment focuses on the legal significance of the Act.

Reading: Accommodations.  This website by the Department of Labor identifies several reasonable accommodations employers can make for disabled workers.  

Reading:  Costs and Benefits of Accommodation.  The May 2023 post by the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), which is funded by a grant from the US Department of Labor, discussed a survey conducted by JAN that indicates workplace accommodations are typically low in cost and provide direct and indirect benefits to employers, e.g enabling the employer to retain valuable employees, increased productivity, and even improved safety.  

Reading:  Jury Awards Over $36 Million in EEOC Disability Discrimination Case Against Werner Trucking.   This September 1, 2023, EEOC Press Release discusses a case against a trucking company brought after it failed to hire or accommodate a deaf applicant who had applied for a position with the firm.   

Reading:  Jury Awards Over $125 Million in EEOC Disability Discrimination Case Against Walmart.  EEOC Press Release (July 16, 2021) announcing jury award for 16-year employee with Down Syndrome fired by Walmart in 2015.

Reading:  How to Handle Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

Video:  What Employers Need to Know About Disability and Religious Accommodations for Employees (6:26).  HR 360 gives employers guidance on how to best accommodate employees with a disability or sincerely held religious belief.

Video:  Wrongful Discharge and Disability Discrimination in the Workplace (6:57). Attorney Joe Sayas speaks about wrongful termination based on disability or other protected status.

Reading:  The Hidden Cost of Disability Discrimination    (CBS News October 2017).  Not only is inclusion the right thing to do, but failing to create an accommodating environment is bad for business.  CBS News details the operational consequences of discriminatory environments.

GINA

Reading:  EEOC on Genetic Information Discrimination

Reading:  It’s Time for Congress to Update Our Genetic Nondiscrimination Law.  This May 24, 2023 commentary by the Americans with Civil Liberties Union claims that a loophole in GINA may allow epigenetic testing, which uses information around a DNA sequence to infer (sometimes inaccurately) whether a person was a smoker or their risk of early mortality.  This article argues that this loophole should be closed by updating GINA.

Video:  GINA Explained by Prof Jason Gordon (1:51). Prof Gordon provides an overview of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.