The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 is a

United States federal law The law of the United States comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the nation's Constitution, which prescribes the foundation of the federal government of the United States, as well as va ...

which amended Title VII of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

(the "1964 Act") to address

employment discrimination Employment discrimination is a form of illegal discrimination in the workplace based on legally protected characteristics. In the U.S., federal anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination by employers against employees based on age, race, g ...

against

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and other minorities. Specifically, it empowered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to take enforcement action against individuals, employers, and labor unions which violated the employment provisions of the 1964 Act, and expanded the jurisdiction of the commission as well. It also required employers to make reasonable accommodation for the religious practices of employees. The employment provisions of the 1964 Act only applied to firms with 25 or more employees; the 1972 Act extended that to firms with 15 or more employees. The version of the bill reported out of the House Committee on Education and Labor would have decreased the threshold to eight employees; however, some senators, including

Norris Cotton Norris Henry Cotton (May 11, 1900 – February 24, 1989) was an American politician from the state of New Hampshire. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Representative and subsequently as a U.S. Senator. Early life Cotton was ...

(R-NH),

Paul Fannin Paul Jones Fannin (January 29, 1907January 13, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. A Republican, he served as a U.S. Senator from Arizona from 1965 to 1977. He previously served as the 11th governor of Arizona from 1959 to 1965. Ear ...

(R-AZ), and

John C. Stennis John Cornelius Stennis (August 3, 1901April 23, 1995) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Senator from the state of Mississippi. He was a Democrat who served in the Senate for over 41 years, becoming its most senior member for hi ...

(D-MS), expressed concern for the impact on small businesses. (During the debate on the initial version of Title VII in 1964, Cotton in particular had proposed increasing the threshold to 100 employees). Despite support for the eight-employee threshold from other senators such as Jacob Javits (R-NY), the Senate amended the threshold to fifteen, and the House subsequently agreed in conference. The fifteen-employee threshold remains in place as of 2020. A 1998 study based on Current Population Survey data found that there were "large shifts in the employment and pay practices of the industries most affected" by the 1972 Act, and concluded that it had "a positive impact" on African Americans' labor market status. With regards to government employment, a 1978 study found that the act had little impact on employment of African Americans in the higher levels of the federal civil service.

References

External links

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Richard Nixon's signing statement
about the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, from the American Presidency Project 1972 in American law 92nd United States Congress Anti-discrimination law in the United States United States federal labor legislation {{US-fed-statute-stub