So why do companies label themselves in this way? If it’s illegal for employers to disobey labor laws and the EEOC’s anti-discrimination guidelines, then it would follow that every business, by default, should be an equal opportunity employer. Several laws have been passed since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which further expanded the characteristics that are protected from discrimination in an employment setting: for example, these protected classes may include race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, and genetic information. The 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act amended Title VII and expanded the EEOC’s powers, giving the agency the authority to enforce anti-discrimination laws more directly. Title VII of the law established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), whose main purpose is to investigate claims of employment discrimination. The legislation made it illegal for companies to discriminate against employees or potential employees based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The origin of its common use goes back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made equal opportunity employment a federal law. So why bother identifying your company as an equal opportunity employer? Where does that phrase even come from? Moreover, anti-discrimination laws at the federal, state and local levels often require that employers offer “equal opportunity” to job-seekers. Unfortunately, this definition doesn’t define each and every situation where discrimination may or may not occur. “An employer that pledges to not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.” 1 But what does it mean?ĭictionaries differ, but one possible definition of the phrase, based on federal regulations, is: The phrase “equal opportunity employer” is often used in job descriptions or at the top of the careers section of a company’s website.
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