Civil Rights Act of 1964: What It Means for Employers

What it means in practice

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 has several titles; the National Archives says it prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for integration of schools and public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. For employers, the key part is Title VII, codified at 42 U.S.C. 2000e and following. It makes it unlawful for an employer to refuse to hire, to discharge, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual in compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment because of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, or to limit, segregate or classify employees in ways that deprive them of opportunities (section 703(a)). The EEOC also enforces related laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; see our entries on the EEOC and on being an equal opportunity employer.

The other titles, briefly. Title II, per the Department of Justice, bars discrimination on the ground of race, color, religion or national origin in places of public accommodation such as hotels and restaurants. Title VI, as reproduced by the Department of Labor, bars such discrimination in federally assisted programs, and reaches employment practices only where a primary objective of the assistance is to provide employment. The rest of this entry covers Title VII.

Which employers are covered. Title VII defines an employer as a person in an industry affecting commerce with 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (section 701(b)). The EEOC says every worker who qualifies as an employee is counted, including part-time, seasonal and temporary employees, while independent contractors and other non-employees, such as owners, are not counted. Employers with sufficiently interrelated operations may be treated as one employer. The definition excludes the United States government, Indian tribes and bona fide tax-exempt private membership clubs; federal employees have a separate complaint process. Employment agencies and labor organizations are also covered. Protected people include employees, applicants, former employees and apprenticeship participants, according to the EEOC.

Worked example: counting employees. A business had 15 or more employees on every working day for 22 weeks last year, then dropped to 12 this year. It is covered because the 20 weeks can come from the preceding calendar year. One that reached 15 for only 18 weeks in each year is not covered federally, though state or local law may apply. Because part-time workers count, 9 full-time and 7 part-time employees on payroll every working day make 16 (see part-time hours and independent contractor).

The protected characteristics. The EEOC says race discrimination includes treatment based on traits associated with race, such as hair texture or facial features, and color discrimination concerns skin complexion. National origin covers treatment based on a person's country or part of the world, ethnicity or accent, and the EEOC says it protects Americans too. Association with someone of a particular race, religion or national origin is also covered. Religion includes all aspects of observance and practice as well as belief (section 701(j)); the EEOC says this reaches sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs, but not social, political or economic philosophies or mere personal preferences.

Sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity. Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act amendment, section 701(k), "because of sex" includes pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, and affected women must be treated the same for all employment purposes, including benefits, as others similar in ability or inability to work. EEOC pages describe sex as including sexual orientation and transgender status, and the EEOC's religious discrimination guidance cites Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) as holding that Title VII's ban on sex discrimination includes discrimination because of sexual orientation or transgender status. Some EEOC pages, including its sex-based discrimination and harassment pages, currently say they are being reviewed for compliance with the law and executive orders, so check the current wording. Pregnancy accommodation falls mainly under the separate Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, effective June 27, 2023, which the EEOC says applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

Prohibited practices. The EEOC says the law forbids discrimination in every aspect of employment, from job ads, recruitment and hiring to assignments, pay, benefits, training, discipline, discharge, layoff and references. Section 704(b) bars job ads indicating a preference based on a protected trait, except a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ), which can apply to religion, sex or national origin, never race or color, and only where reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the business (section 703(e)). Title VII reaches intentional disparate treatment and also neutral practices with a disparate impact, which are unlawful unless the employer shows they are job related and consistent with business necessity, or if it refuses an available less discriminatory alternative (section 703(k); see adverse impact). A practice is also unlawful where a protected trait was a motivating factor, even alongside other factors (section 703(m)). Title VII does not require preferential treatment to correct a workforce imbalance (section 703(j)).

Harassment. According to the EEOC, harassment is unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic that becomes unlawful when enduring it becomes a condition of continued employment, or when it is severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person would consider the work environment intimidating, hostile or abusive. Petty slights and isolated incidents, unless extremely serious, do not meet that standard. Per the EEOC, an employer is automatically liable for supervisor harassment that results in a negative employment action such as termination; for a supervisor-created hostile environment it avoids liability only by proving it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the behavior and the employee unreasonably failed to use the opportunities offered. For coworkers and non-employees it controls, such as customers, it is liable if it knew or should have known and failed to take prompt corrective action. 29 CFR 1604.11 calls prevention the best tool.

Religious accommodation after Groff v. DeJoy. An employer must reasonably accommodate an employee's or applicant's religious observance or practice unless it cannot do so without undue hardship (section 701(j)). The EEOC explains that in Groff v. DeJoy (2023) the Supreme Court held that showing "more than a de minimis cost" does not establish undue hardship; instead, undue hardship is shown when a burden is substantial in the overall context of the employer's business, considering the particular accommodation and its practical impact in light of the employer's nature, size and operating cost. The EEOC states that Groff supersedes contrary information in its documents, including older de minimis language. Common accommodations it lists are flexible scheduling, voluntary shift swaps, reassignment and dress or grooming exceptions, such as a head covering. The employee need not use "magic words", and the employer should ordinarily assume a belief is sincerely held unless it has an objective basis for doubt. Under 29 CFR 1605.2(c), refusal is justified only if each available alternative would cause undue hardship. Religious organizations may employ individuals of a particular religion (section 702(a)).

Retaliation. Section 704(a) makes it unlawful to discriminate against an employee or applicant because they opposed a practice Title VII makes unlawful or made a charge, testified, assisted or participated in an investigation, proceeding or hearing. The EEOC lists protected activity such as complaining to a manager, answering questions in an internal investigation, requesting a religious accommodation and asking about pay to uncover discriminatory wages. Depending on the facts, retaliation can include an undeservedly low evaluation, a less desirable transfer or increased scrutiny. Legitimate, non-retaliatory discipline is still allowed. See our entry on retaliation.

Charges and time limits. A charge must generally be filed with the EEOC within 180 calendar days of the discriminatory act, extended to 300 days where a state or local agency enforces a law against the same kind of discrimination (section 706(e)). The EEOC counts weekends and holidays, moves a weekend or holiday deadline to the next business day, and says internal grievances generally do not pause the clock. Each discrete act has its own deadline; for ongoing harassment the period runs from the last incident. For pay discrimination, each paycheck resulting from a discriminatory pay decision is a new violation (section 706(e)(3), from the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009). After a notice of right to sue, suit may be filed within 90 days (section 706(f)(1)). Worked example: for an event on March 2, 2026 in a state with its own agency, day 300 is Sunday, December 27, 2026, so the deadline moves to Monday, December 28, 2026.

Remedies and the 1991 amendments. The EEOC says remedies may include hiring or reinstatement, back pay and benefits, attorney fees, expert witness fees and court costs. Back pay cannot accrue from more than two years before the charge was filed and is reduced by interim earnings (section 706(g)). The Civil Rights Act of 1991 added compensatory and punitive damages for intentional discrimination (not disparate impact) and a jury trial right (42 U.S.C. 1981a). Punitive damages require malice or reckless indifference and are unavailable against governments. Combined compensatory (excluding back pay) and punitive damages per complaining party are limited to $50,000 for employers with 15-100 employees, $100,000 for 101-200, $200,000 for 201-500 and $300,000 for more than 500, and the jury is not told the limits. Worked example: a jury awards $80,000 for emotional harm and $120,000 punitive against an employer of 150; the $200,000 total is limited to $100,000, and any back pay is separate.

Posting requirement. Section 711 requires covered employers to post a notice prepared or approved by the EEOC in conspicuous places where notices to employees and applicants are customarily posted. The EEOC's "Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal" poster serves this purpose, in the version dated for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The EEOC says electronic posting usually supplements the physical poster but may be the only posting for employers without a physical location or for remote employees who rarely visit. The fine is inflation-adjusted: 29 CFR 1601.30 states up to $698 per separate offense, while the EEOC poster page still shows $680, so check the regulation for the current figure.

Recordkeeping and EEO-1 reports. Under 29 CFR 1602.14, any personnel or employment record made or kept, such as applications and records on hiring, promotion, termination and pay, must be kept for one year from the making of the record or the personnel action, whichever is later; after an involuntary termination, for one year from the termination date. Once a charge is filed, relevant records, including those for similarly situated employees and other candidates, must be kept until final disposition, which the EEOC says includes the 90-day period to sue. Separately, 29 CFR 1602.7 requires employers subject to Title VII with 100 or more employees to file the EEO-1 report. The EEOC data collection page also lists federal contractors with 50 or more employees meeting certain criteria, citing Executive Order 11246; the Department of Labor says that order was revoked January 21, 2025, so check EEOC instructions for the current year. Payroll records have longer periods under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Where states differ. Title VII is a federal floor. As one example, the California Civil Rights Department says employers of 5 or more employees are covered by the state Fair Employment and Housing Act, harassment is prohibited in all workplaces, and complaints generally must be filed within three years. Other states differ; check your state agency.

FAQ: Does Title VII cover a business with 10 employees? Not under the 15-employee test, but state or local law may apply, and the EEOC notes that federal immigration law (IRCA) bars national origin discrimination by employers with 4 to 14 employees.

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