Anita Faye Hill is an American lawyer,educator and author. She is a professor of social policy,law,and women's studies at Brandeis University and a faculty member of the university's Heller School for Social Policy and Management. She became a national figure in 1991 when she accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas,her supervisor at the United States Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,of sexual harassment.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race,color,religion,sex,and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requirements,racial segregation in schools and public accommodations,and employment discrimination. The act "remains one of the most significant legislative achievements in American history".
In United States labor law,a hostile work environment exists when one's behavior within a workplace creates an environment that is difficult or uncomfortable for another person to work in,due to illegal discrimination. However,a working environment that is unpleasant and frightening for the victim due to sexual advances that have been denied by the victim,is what constitutes hostile work environment sexual harassment. Common complaints in sexual harassment lawsuits include fondling,suggestive remarks,sexually-suggestive photos displayed in the workplace,use of sexual language,or off-color jokes. Small matters,annoyances,and isolated incidents are usually not considered to be statutory violations of the discrimination laws. For a violation to impose liability,the conduct must create a work environment that would be intimidating,hostile,or offensive to a reasonable person. An employer can be held liable for failing to prevent these workplace conditions,unless it can prove that it attempted to prevent the harassment and that the employee failed to take advantage of existing harassment counter-measures or tools provided by the employer.
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones,including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment can be physical and/or verbal. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions from verbal transgressions to sexual abuse or assault. Harassment can occur in many different social settings such as the workplace,the home,school,or religious institutions. Harassers or victims can be of any gender.
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services,523 U.S. 75 (1998),is a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court. The case arose out of a suit for sex discrimination by a male oil-rig worker,who claimed that he was repeatedly subjected to sexual harassment by his male co-workers with the acquiescence of his employer. The Court held that the protection of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against workplace discrimination "because of... sex" applied to harassment in the workplace between members of the same sex.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race,color,national origin,religion,sex,age,disability,genetic information,and retaliation for participating in a discrimination complaint proceeding and/or opposing a discriminatory practice.
Equal employment opportunity is equal opportunity to attain or maintain employment in a company,organization,or other institution. Examples of legislation to foster it or to protect it from eroding include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,which was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to assist in the protection of United States employees from discrimination. The law was the first federal law designed to protect most US employees from employment discrimination based on that employee's race,color,religion,sex,or national origin.
Naomi Churchill Earp is an American lawyer and government official from Maryland and Virginia. From 2007 to 2009 she served as chair of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,where she established the Youth At Work Program. She was designated by President George W. Bush in 2006,succeeding Cari M. Dominguez. Prior to her appointment as Chair,she had served as vice chair of the commission since 2003.
Employment discrimination law in the United States derives from the common law,and is codified in numerous state,federal,and local laws. These laws prohibit discrimination based on certain characteristics or "protected categories". The United States Constitution also prohibits discrimination by federal and state governments against their public employees. Discrimination in the private sector is not directly constrained by the Constitution,but has become subject to a growing body of federal and state law,including the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal law prohibits discrimination in a number of areas,including recruiting,hiring,job evaluations,promotion policies,training,compensation and disciplinary action. State laws often extend protection to additional categories or employers.
Executive Order 13087 was signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on May 28,1998,amending Executive Order 11478 to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the competitive service of the federal civilian workforce. The order also applies to employees of the government of the District of Columbia,and the United States Postal Service. However,it does not apply to positions and agencies in the excepted service,such as the Central Intelligence Agency,National Security Agency,and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
On July 1,1991,President George H. W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court of the United States to replace Thurgood Marshall,who had announced his retirement. At the time of his nomination,Thomas was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit;President Bush had appointed him to that position in March 1990.
Chai Rachel Feldblum is an American author and activist for disability and LGBT rights. A former law professor at Georgetown University Law Center,she served as Commissioner at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She was nominated to the position on the EEOC by president Barack Obama in 2009. In April 2010,she received a recess appointment to the EEOC,and in December 2010 she was confirmed to serve on the EEOC by the United States Senate. The Senate confirmed her in December 2013 for a second term on the Commission which expired in July 2018.
Gilbert F. Casellas is an American lawyer and businessman. He is a private investor and business consultant in the Washington,D.C. area,a director of Prudential Financial,trustee of the University of Pennsylvania,and advisor to Toyota Motor North America,T-Mobile US,and Comcast Corporation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,the American Law Institute,trustee of the Pan American Development Foundation and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Workplace Harassment Second Edition 2018 published by Bloomberg Law.
LGBT employment discrimination in the United States is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is encompassed by the law's prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Prior to the landmark cases Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. &G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020),employment protections for LGBT people were patchwork;several states and localities explicitly prohibit harassment and bias in employment decisions on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity,although some only cover public employees. Prior to the Bostock decision,the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interpreted Title VII to cover LGBT employees;the EEOC determined that transgender employees were protected under Title VII in 2012,and extended the protection to encompass sexual orientation in 2015.
Kate Michelle Jenkins has been the Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission since 2016. Previously,she was Commissioner at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. Jenkins is also on the Board of Berry Street Victoria –the state's largest independent child and family welfare organisation –and a member of the boards of Heide Museum of Modern Art and Carlton Football Club.
Jacqueline Ann Berrien,often known as Jackie Berrien,was an American civil rights attorney and government official. From 2009 to 2014,Berrien served as chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under President Barack Obama. Prior to this,Berrien had served as Associate Director Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Sexual harassment in the workplace in US labor law has been considered a form of discrimination on the basis of sex in the United States since the mid-1970s. There are two forms of sexual harassment recognized by United States law:quid pro quo sexual harassment and behavior that creates a hostile work environment. It has been noted that a number of the early sexual harassment cases were brought by African American women and girls.
Victoria Ann Lipnic is an American lawyer and public figure. She served in multiple senior United States government positions. She was Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC),nominated to two terms by President Barack Obama,2010 –2020.) She served as Chair (Acting) of the EEOC under President Donald J. Trump from 2017 –2019. Prior to her appointments to the EEOC,she was Assistant Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush. The United States Senate confirmed her unanimously to each of these positions.
Janet Dhillon is an American lawyer. She is a former chair and commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,serving as chair from May 2019 to January 2021,and as commissioner from May 2019 to November 2022. Prior to that,Dhillon was the executive vice president,general counsel,and corporate secretary of Burlington Stores.
Charlotte A. Burrows is an American attorney and government official. Since 2021,Burrows has served as Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Burrows first joined the agency as a commissioner in 2015,and previously served as an associate deputy attorney general. A member of the Democratic Party,Burrows also served as an aide and counsel to Senator Ted Kennedy.
