What You Need to Know About EEO Posters
Equal Employment Opportunity (or EEO) laws prohibit employers from discriminating against employees or people who apply for jobs in the United States. Because of these laws, people who are members of certain protected classes must receive fair treatment throughout all phases of the employment process, including recruitment, employment, and termination. This law also states that people cannot be discriminated against when requesting equal pay for equal work.
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How EEO affects your business
Federal EEO laws are designed to prevent the unlawful mistreatment of protected classes of people, thereby giving employees and applicants an official process through which they can file grievances, should they feel they have been victims of discrimination.
According to federal EEO laws, the following are considered unlawful acts:
- Unfair treatment of protected classes;
- Harassment or bullying in the workplace, either by management, co-workers, or others;
- Denial of reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities;
- Denial of reasonable accommodation for persons who request such accommodation because of religious beliefs;
- Retaliation against an employee who either complained about discrimination or assisted with a job discrimination investigation or lawsuit.
Federal law protects the following classes of people from being unlawfully discriminated against as a result of EEO:
- Race
- Color
- Religion
- Sex (inclusive of pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation)
- National origin
- Age (40 years of age or older)
- Disabilities
- Genetic information
What the Federal EEO poster contains
The EEOC’s Equal Opportunity is the Law poster defines the classes that are protected from discrimination as well as the various governing pieces of legislation, which provide this protection. Protected classes cannot be denied employment, raises, promotions, proper discharge, pay, training, benefits, referrals, or any other aspect of employment based on their classification alone.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Responsible for protecting employees and applicants from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Under this act, employers must also provide reasonable accommodation in connection with employees’ religious beliefs and practices.
The Age Discrimination Act of 1967
Prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants and employees who are 40 years of age and older.
Title II of the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
Disallows discrimination on the basis of genetic information. GINA also strictly limits employers’ acquisition and disclosure of genetic information, including items such as genetic tests, family medical histories, and requests for genetic services by applicants, employees, and their family members.
Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Bars employers from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of disabilities. These acts also require employers to provide otherwise qualified employees or applicants with reasonable accommodation to facilitate the successful performance of their job functions.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963, in conjunction with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Requires equal pay for equal work, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender alone. Under this act, women are required to earn the same wages as men, provided the skill sets, job functions, work environments, effort, and responsibility are the same or reasonably similar.
Further, the EEO employment poster outlines the fact that employees or applicants cannot be retaliated against, should they file a discrimination suit or assist with a discrimination investigation.
What are my EEO posting requirements?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that notifications such as this be placed in locations that can be accessed by disabled persons with limited mobility.
