ABSTRACT
As the primary federal antidiscrimination law encompassing a broad spectrum of protections, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 19641 (hereinafter referred to as “Title VII”) is general in its application and extends protections to all races, including Caucasian, as well as protections in the areas of religion, pregnancy, sex, color, and national origin. At the time of its creation by Congress in 1964, Title VII was the most sweeping civil rights legislation every enacted and contains 11 different titles addressing discrimination in public accommodations, voting, education and, most important to safety professionals, in the employment setting. Safety professionals
should be aware that the Civil Rights Act has been modiŸed and amended on several occasions since 1964, the most recent being the Civil Rights Act of 1991.2 In the Civil Rights Act of 1991,3 Congress reacted to a series of court decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court changing the landscape of discrimination law and precedent. With the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Congress amended several of the statutes enforced by the EEOC and added jury trials; compensatory and punitive damages in title VII (and ADA) lawsuits involving intentional discrimination and added statutory caps on damages awarded for future losses, pain, and suffering; and punitive damages depending on the size of the employer. Additionally, Congress codiŸed the disparate impact theory of discrimination and expanded the coverage of Title VII to cover employees of American-controlled companies or organizations with operations outside of the United States.
