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Federal Employment Laws

1. Title VII of 1964
   Title VII, the federal law that prohibits most workplace harassment and discrimination, covers all private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions with 15 or more employees. In addition to prohibiting discrimination against workers because of race, color, national origin, religion, and sex, those protections have been extended to include barring against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, sex stereotyping, and sexual harassment of employees.

2. Civil Rights Act of 1991
   United States statute that was passed in response to a series of United States Supreme Court decisions which limited the rights of employees who had sued their employers for discrimination. The Act represented the first effort since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to modify some of the basic procedural and substantive rights provided by federal law in employment discrimination cases.

3. Pregnancy Discrimination Act
   The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII, which covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments.

4. Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
   The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodation, communications, and governmental activities. The ADA also establishes requirements for telecommunications relay services. FAQ's

5. Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act
   The ADA Amendments Act, was signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 25, 2008. The ADAAA expands the interpretation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against disabled workers or job applicants.

6. Rehabilitation Act
   The Rehabilitation Act is the Federal legislation that authorizes the formula grant programs of vocational rehabilitation, supported employment, independent living, and client assistance. It also authorizes a variety of training and service discretionary grants administered by the Rehabilitation Services Administration.

7. Age Discrimination Act of 1975
   Prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. The Act, which applies to all ages, permits the use of certain age distinctions and factors other than age that meet the Act's requirements.

8. USERRA
   The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) was signed into law on October 13, 1994. USERRA clarifies and strengthens the Veterans' Reemployment Rights (VRR) Statute. The Act itself can be found in the United States Code at Chapter 43, Part III, Title 38.

9. Veterans Readjustment Act
   The Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) requires covered federal government contractors and subcontractors to take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment specified categories of veterans protected by the Act and prohibits discrimination against such veterans.

10. Immigration Reform and Control Act
    This act was passed in order to control and deter illegal immigration to the United States. Its major provisions stipulate legalization of undocumented aliens who had been continuously unlawfully present since 1982, legalization of certain agricultural workers, sanctions for employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, and increased enforcement at U.S. borders.

11. Fair Labor Standards Act
    The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Advisor provides employers and employees with the information they need to understand Federal minimum wage, overtime, child labor and recordkeeping requirements. The child labor section answers questions from youth, parents, teachers and employers about Federal child labor rules. This Advisor was developed by the Wage and Hour Division of the Employment Standards Administration.

12. Family Medical Leave Act
    Covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following reasons:
    • for the birth and care of the newborn child of the employee;
    • for placement with the employee of a son or daughter for adoption or foster care;
    • to care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
    • to take medical leave when the employee is unable to work because of a serious health condition.
    This law was revised and updated January 16, 2009

13. Employment At Will
    The right of employers to fire employees for any reason, or for no reason at all. It also gives employees the legal right to quit their jobs at any time for any reason. Despite this legal doctine, employers may not fire employees in a way that discriminates, violates public policy or conflicts with written or implied promises they make concerning the length of employment or grounds for termination.

14. Fair Credit Reporting Act
    An American federal law (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.) that regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer credit information. Along with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), it forms the base of consumer credit rights in the United States. It is enforced by the US Federal Trade Commission.

15. National Labor Relations Act
    Congress approved the National Labor Relations Act in 1935 to encourage a healthy relationship between private-sector workers and their employers, which policy makers viewed as vital to the national interest.

16. Equal Pay Act
    U.S. law passed (1963) as an amendment to the Wages and Hours Act which prohibits discrimination based on sex that results in unequal pay for equal work.

17. Drug Free Workplace Act
    Congress enacted the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988 (P.L. 100-690, Title V, Subtitle D). The act requires federal grantees and contractors to certify that they maintain a drug-free workplace. Grantees must establish a written policy that informs employees that the unlawful possession, distribution or manufacturing of a controlled substance in the workplace is prohibited.

18. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act
    WARN offers protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. This notice must be provided to either affected workers or their representatives (e.g., a labor union); to the State dislocated worker unit; and to the appropriate unit of local government.

19. OSHA
    Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment.

20. ERISA
    The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a federal law that sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans.

21. COBRA
    The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) provides for premium reductions and additional election opportunities for health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, commonly called COBRA.

22. National Defense Authorization Act 2008
    The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 is a law in the United States signed by President George W. Bush on January 28, 2008. As a bill it was H.R. 4986 in the 110th Congress. The overall purpose of the law is to authorize funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, for military construction, and for national security-related energy programs.

23. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
    As part of the economic stimulus package, Congress passed and President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Funds are being distributed by Federal agencies to States and communities throughout the country to build, repair, and upgrade a wide range of facilities, systems, and programs.

24. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
    This law makes it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members (i.e. an individual's family medical history). The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.