Civil Rights Act of 1964 Essay

Harassment at the workplace has been a condition that has continued to turmoil in many countries leaving victims vulnerable and defenseless. There are many forms of harassment at the workplace currently. Apart from discrimination basing on different aspects such as skin color, nationality gender, and age, workers continue to suffer other injustices such as underpayment and overworking. From different parts of the country, discrimination at the workplace is cancer that has eaten deep into America’s integrity and morality at the workplace. The government has come up with various laws that should assist in reducing workplace discrimination. The following paper aims at defining discrimination, types of discrimination, and the laws that were enacted to prevent discrimination at the workplace. The essay also gives solutions to what organizations can implement to end discrimination in the workplace.

Harassment in the Workplace

For any organization to achieve its organizational goals and objective, it should ensure that its employees are taken care of. Workers are important aspects of an organization. This is the main reason why most if not all organizations have a human resource department. This essential department formulates policies that protect all workers. Recently, most organizations are focusing on providing a conducive working environment for their employees. Research done by most organizations finds out that the productivity of workers is highly dependent on the working environment. At the workplace, many factors determine the effectiveness and efficiency of workers. Many organizations are coming up with policies and regulations that promote harmony at the workplace to increase workers’ productivity. A conducive environment includes a working condition that does not tolerate harassment, promotes employee growth, and encourages inclusivity and peace. Harassment in the workplace is not a new concept to many employees and organizations. This essay aims to investigate and analyze harassment laws in America.

Harassment is any offensive behavior and characteristic that are meant to humiliate, demean, and embarrass an individual. Most of these incidents are aligned to a lack of proper social and moral accountability. On the other hand, harassment at the workplace is a practice of prejudice that defiles the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the national code of practice comprising the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the People with Disabilities Act of 1990. Consequently, the commission of equal employment elucidates workplace harassment as undesirable oral or physical characteristics that tend to discriminate against individuals basing on their skin color, gender, background, country of origin, age, religion, and physical or cognitive incapacities(Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2020).. Although there are numerous laws of workplace harassment, this paper will only focus on three. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963. Before the 20th century, women comprised 24 percent of the US labor market. The second war was associated with bringing more women to the labor market, as men were busy fighting. However, there was a difference in terms of wage rate between men and women (Bornstein, 2017). Signed in 1963 by President F. Kennedy, the law aimed to reverse the injustice done to women of discrimination wage rates. Before this law was enacted, women used to receive a lower wage rate compared to men even though they were at the same level of the workplace (Ross and McDermott, 1974). The law abolished male dominance at the workplace and gave both genders equal opportunities. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal for an organization to compensate varied wages rates to male or female workers if they belong to the same work level. More so, the law recognized both genders as equal hence no one is superior to the other one. Through this law, equity was developed at the workplace, women started to receive equal pay as their colleges at the same level of work.

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Before the signing of this law, most African Americans and other people of color were being discriminated against at the workplace because of their skin color. This law required the employer to employ people basin on their merits and job requirements rather than skin color. Signed in 1964, the law made it illegal to classify workers basing on their nationality, skin color, gender, or race. Most employers used to consider surnames of individuals to determine their nationality, origin, or religion (Blumrosen, 1978). Furthermore, the law also protected the victims and people who reported such cases. It gave individuals the right and freedom to be employed by any organization as long as they qualify and have the required merits or credibility. Further amendments were done in 1978, allowing organizations and other employees to treat pregnant women as other employees that are disabled. It granted pregnant women the privileges of maternal leave and other health benefits during the pregnancy period (Kugele et al., 2017). Penalty for failing to comply with this law may result in imprisonments and other fines.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Before this bill was signed into law, individuals over the age of 40 years used to be discriminated against. Most organizations and employees considered them ineffective hence prefer the young individual (Stypińska and Nikander, 2018). It raised a lot of concern, which lead to the formation of this act. The law prohibits any employer or organization from discriminating against individuals basing on age. The Act required every employer to consider every employee as equal in the employment process (Levien, 1974). The law required all individuals to receive equal treatment in hiring, promoting, compensating, and giving special privileges. Through this law, people of different ages were able to co-exist peacefully without discrimination. Discriminations tend to lower employees' morale resulting in low productivity. These laws ensured that every individual is seen as equal before the eyes of their employers’ hence promoting equity.

Different organizations have different solutions towards harassment at the workplace, but the common ones are as follows. Updating, revising, and implementing the company policies will help fight harassment at the workplace. On the other hand, the company may train its employees to equip them with the required knowledge about harassment at the workplace. Furthermore, the complaint systems of the different organizations should be reviewed to ensure that victims get their justice. The above measure aims at reducing and eliminating any kind of harassment at the workplace.

To sum up the above, workers are the essential factor of production. Their efficiency and effectiveness lead to an increase in total output. The organization should ensure that it is its responsibility to take care of its workers. This condition can be achieved by providing a good working environment that does not promote harassment. Harassments do not only lower the morale of workers, but also their productivity. It does not matter what kind of harassment the impacts are the same. Harassment can be reduced by enacting rules and regulations to protect workers. It is high time humanitarian organizations and other legal organizations come to the aid of workers who are constantly harassed at work. A conducive working environment, free from any form of harassment should be the ultimate goal of any organization. Workers should co-exist harmoniously irrespective of their gender, skin color, or background. Those found guilty of harassing others should face the law to reduce harassment at workplaces. The laws named above have helped a lot in reducing harassment at the workplace. Further amendments should be done to ensure the best in the workplace.

Reference list

1. Blumrosen, R. G. (1978). Wage discrimination, job segregation, and the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. U. Mich. JL Reform, 12, 397.
2. Bornstein, S. (2017). Equal Work. Md. L. Rev., 77, 581.
3. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2020)