The Legislative History of Title Vii
The Legislative History of Title VII
At the outset of the Eighty-eighth Congress various Senators and Representatives submitted a plethora of civil rights bills. Some included comprehensive provisions relating to all areas of civic and economic life where discrimination existed, including private employment; others dealt primarily with equal employment opportunity in both private and public employment. The proposed methods of enforcement ran the gamutfrom those providing for a strong administrative agency, like the NLRB, with power to hold hearings and issue cease-and-desist orders enforceable in court, to those providing simply for conciliation and persuasion or merely further study and recommendations.
Among the bills dealing primarily with equal employment opportunity was H.R. 405 entitled "A Bill to Prohibit Discrimination in Employment in Certain Cases Because of Race, Religion, Color, National Origin, Ancestry or Age." H.R. 405 is the nominal ancestor of Title VII. It was introduced in the House by Mr. Roosevelt of California on January 9, 1963, the opening day of the 1st Session of the 88th Congress, and was promptly referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. Following extensive hearings, the Committee reported the bill, with amendments, and recommended its passage.
Following is a timeline of how and when Title VII was introduced.
1787 Article VI, U.S. Constitution prohibits religious discrimination.
1864 13th and 14th Amendments prohibited slavery and provided equal protection to all US Citizens.
1866 Civil Rights Acts which further defined protection embodied in the Constitution: the right to make and enforce contracts, the right to sue for damages, the right to be a party to litigation, the right of males to vote.
1883 Civil Service Act substituted merit for politics thereby abolishing the "spoils system".
1920 19th Amendment
1938 Fair Labor Standards Act covered minimum wages, overtime compensation, child labor, and other
At the outset of the Eighty-eighth Congress various Senators and Representatives submitted a plethora of civil rights bills. Some included comprehensive provisions relating to all areas of civic and economic life where discrimination existed, including private employment; others dealt primarily with equal employment opportunity in both private and public employment. The proposed methods of enforcement ran the gamutfrom those providing for a strong administrative agency, like the NLRB, with power to hold hearings and issue cease-and-desist orders enforceable in court, to those providing simply for conciliation and persuasion or merely further study and recommendations.
Among the bills dealing primarily with equal employment opportunity was H.R. 405 entitled "A Bill to Prohibit Discrimination in Employment in Certain Cases Because of Race, Religion, Color, National Origin, Ancestry or Age." H.R. 405 is the nominal ancestor of Title VII. It was introduced in the House by Mr. Roosevelt of California on January 9, 1963, the opening day of the 1st Session of the 88th Congress, and was promptly referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. Following extensive hearings, the Committee reported the bill, with amendments, and recommended its passage.
Following is a timeline of how and when Title VII was introduced.
1787 Article VI, U.S. Constitution prohibits religious discrimination.
1864 13th and 14th Amendments prohibited slavery and provided equal protection to all US Citizens.
1866 Civil Rights Acts which further defined protection embodied in the Constitution: the right to make and enforce contracts, the right to sue for damages, the right to be a party to litigation, the right of males to vote.
1883 Civil Service Act substituted merit for politics thereby abolishing the "spoils system".
1920 19th Amendment
1938 Fair Labor Standards Act covered minimum wages, overtime compensation, child labor, and other
References: Unknown (2001) TITLE VII SPECIAL ORDINANCES. Retrieved from (http://showcase.netins.net/web/cityofoxfordjunction/chapt3-6.html) August 8, 2004. Unknown (2004) Protected Classes under Title 7. Retrieved from (http://users.aristotle.net/~hantley/hiedlegl/statutes/title7/protclas.htm) August 8, 2004. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Questions & Answers for Small Employers on Employer Liability for Harassment by Supervisors. Retrieved from (http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/harassment-facts.html) August 2, 2004. Bennet-Alexander-Hartman (2003) Employment Law for Business, Fourth Edition. University of Phoenix text. McGraw-Hill Companies. Walden, Gregory S. Legal issues posed in the language dilemma. Management Communication Quarterly. Thousand Oaks: May 2002. Vol. 15, Iss. 4; pg. 609 retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com on 7-26-2004 Eichner, Maxine N. Getting Women Work that Isn 't Women 's Work: Challenging Gender Biases in the Workplace Under Title VII. The Yale Law Journal. New Haven: Jun 1988. vol. 97, iss. 7; pg. 1397 retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com on 8-7-2004 Greenlaw, Paul S. Affirmative Action or Reverse Discrimination? Personal Journal. Santa Monica: Sep 1985. vol. 64, iss. 9, pg. 84 retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com on 8-7-2004