Journal of Social and Political
Sciences
ISSN 2615-3718 (Online)
ISSN 2621-5675 (Print)
Published: 13 July 2020
The Civil Rights Act of 1964: Beyond Race to Employment Discrimination Based on Sex: The “Three Letter Word” That Has Continued to Vex Society and The United States Supreme Court
John H. Shannon, Richard J. Hunter, Jr.
Seton Hall university, USA
Download Full-Text Pdf
10.31014/aior.1991.03.03.196
Pages: 613-636
Keywords: Discrimination Based on Sex, Civil Right Act of 1964, Filibuster, Cloture, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Abstract
This article is a comprehensive review of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, more specifically, Title VII, which outlawed discrimination based upon, “race, color, creed, national origin, and sex.” The article traces the legislative genesis of the Act, the function of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and discusses some of the major cases decided by the United States Supreme Court and other federal courts that have defined both the reaches and limits of the legislation which initially focused on prohibiting discrimination based on “race.” The article then focuses on discrimination based on “sex” and highlights the role the United States Supreme Court has played in fleshing out the parameters of employment discrimination from the 1960s through the historic decision reached by the Court in June of 2020 in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, relating to sexual orientation, transgender status, and sex stereotyping.
References
Aiken, J.R., Salmon, E.D., & Hanges, P.J. (2013). The origins and legacy of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Journal of Business and Psychology, 28: 383-399.
Bezuvis, E. (2011). Transgender student-athletes and sex-segregated sport: developing policies of inclusion for intercollegiate and interscholastic athletes. Seton Hall Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law, 21(1): 1-59.
Boram, M. (2016). The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act: a criminal law perspective. University of Baltimore Law Review, 45: 343-368.
Brinster, J.W. (2020). Taking congruence and proportionality seriously. New York University Law Review, 95: 580-620.
Christopher, W. (1965). The constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Stanford Law Review, 1: 1-26.
Clark, H. (2020). Conservative favorite Justice Kavanaugh says ‘gays’‘ can ‘take pride in’ ruling redefining ‘sex’: important victory achieved today. Christian News (June 15). Available: https://cnmnewz.com/2020/06/15/conservative-favorite-justice-kavanaugh-says-gays-can-take-pride-in-ruling-redefining-sex-important-victory-achieved-today/
Coluccio, M. (2010). Fait accompli? Where the Supreme Court and equal pay meet a narrow legislative override under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Seattle University Law Review, 34: 235-271.
Denley, T.J. (2020). Balancing burdens in religious freedom cases. Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights and Social Justice, 26: 207- 232.
Dierenfield, B.J. (1983). Congressman Howard W. Smith: a political biography (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Virginia). Available: https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=7357683
Dittman, S.C. (1985). Removal in civil rights cases under 28 U.S.C. Section 1443(2). Loyola Law Review, 31(4): 855-888.
Dunning, W.A. (1901). The undoing of reconstruction. The Atlantic(October). Available: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1901/10/the-undoing-of-reconstruction/429219/
Federer, W.F. (2019). In-depth look at civil rights and politics of race: it’s not black and white. The Patriot Post (July 29). Available: https://patriotpost.us/opinion/64570-in-depth-look-at-civil-rights-and-politics-of-race-its-not-black-and-white-2019-07-29
Find Law (2017). Civil rights: U.S. Supreme Court decisions (July 26). Available: https://civilrights.findlaw.com/civil-rights-overview/civil-rights-u-s-supreme-court-decisions.html
Finkelman, P. (2018). The hidden history of northern civil rights law and the villainous Supreme Court, 1875-1915. University of Pittsburgh Law Review, 79: 357-410.
Fiss, W. (2018). The accumulation of disadvantages. California Law Review, 106: 1945-1976.
Freeman, J. (1990). How sex got into Title VII: persistent opportunism as a maker of public policy. Law and Inequality, 9: 163-184.
Geiling, N. (2014). A deeper look at the politicians who passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Smithsonian Magazine (June 30). Available: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/deep-look-politicians-passed-civil-rights-act-1964-180951799/
Genel, M. (2017). Transgender athletes: how can they be accommodated? Current Sports Medical Reports, 16(1): 12-13.
Godwin, J.L., Houghton, J.D., Neck, C.P., & Mohan, E.C. (2011). Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech as a tool for teaching transformational leadership and vision. Journal of Organizational Behavior Education, 4: 23-42.
Herbst, A. (1978). Ending discrimination against the handicapped or creating new problems? The HEW rules and regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 6(2): 399-412.
Highton, B. (2004). Voter registration and turnout in the United States. Perspectives on Politics, 2(3): 507-515..
Hunter, R.J., & Brown, T.E. (2015). Transgender athlete rights under Title IX and NCAA policy: inadequacy and unevenness of treatment demands equal protection and at least intermediate scrutiny analysis. International Journal of Sports Studies, 5(7): 752-764.
Hunter, R.J., Shannon, J.H., & Amoroso, H.J. (2019). Employment discrimination based on age: part II: applying the ADEA in employment scenarios: discrimination, idle chatter, or something else? Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 9(1): 1-17.
Lhamon, C.E. (2018). Introduction to the summit for civil rights: 50 years later—the state of civil rights and opportunity in America, Law and Inequality, 36: 179-189.
Liu, G. (2008). The first Justice Harlan. California Law Review: 96(5): 1383-1393.
McWhite, L. (2017). Mr. Chairman: US Senator James O. Eastland and the judiciary committee, 1956-1978. Mississippi Law Journal, 86: 941-993.
More, A. (2008). Coming out of the water closet: the case against sex segregated bathrooms. Texas Journal of Women and Law, 17: 297-315.
Morin, E.C. (1990). Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990: social integration through employment. Catholic University Law Review, 40: 189-213.
Napikowski, L. (2020). How women became part of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Thought Co.(February 4). Available: https://www.thoughtco.com/women-and-the-civil-rights-act-3529477
Osterman, R. (2009). Origins of a myth: why courts, scholars, and the public think Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination was an accident. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 20: 409-440.
Perry, H.W., & Powe, L.A. (2004). The political battle for the Constitution. Constitutional Commentary, 21: 641-696.
Pogowsky, M. (2018). Transgender persons have a fundamental right to use public bathrooms matching their gender identity. DePaul Law Review, 67: 733-762.
Portuondo, L. (2018). The overdue case against sex-segregated bathrooms. Yale Journal of Law and Feminism, 29: 465-526.
Price, Christopher. (2019). Senator Robert C. Byrd and the 1964 civil rights debate. Baptist History and Heritage. Available: https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1G1-611172716/senator-robert-c-byrd-and-the-1964-civil-rights-debate
Quigley, B. (2019). The continuing significance of race: official legislative racial discrimination in Louisiana 1861 to 1974. Southern University Law Review, 47: 1-67.
Ramirez, S.A., & Williams, N.G. (2019). Deracialization and democracy. Case Western Reserve Law Review, 70: 81-139.
Saba, C. (2019). Employment law violations. American Criminal Law Review, 56: 759-805.
Sanders, J., & Stryker, S. (2016). Stalled: gender-neutral public bathrooms. South Atlantic Quarterly, 115(4): 779-788.
Shackford, S. (2020). Supreme Court rules 6-3, that LGBT workplace discrimination violates civil rights act (June 15). Available: https://reason.com/2020/06/15/supreme-court-rules-6-3-that-lgbt-workplace-discrimination-violates-civil-rights-act/
Sherman, M. (2020). Supreme Court rules existing civil rights law protects LGBT workers. Real Clear Politics (June 15). Available: https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/06/
Son, C. (2015). Clair Engle and the brain tumor that almost derailed the Civil Rights Act. Neurological Focus, 39(1): 1-4.
Thomson, N. (2006). Is this a bona fide occupational qualification? Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 12(3): 19-23.
Turner, R. (2020). Title VII and the unenvisaged case: is anti-LGBTQ discrimination unlawful sex discrimination? Indiana Law Journal, 95: 227-268.
Ventrell-Monsees, C. (2019). It’s unlawful age discrimination- not the “natural order” of the workplace. Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, 40: 91-133.
Wasserman, R. (1994). Rethinking review of remands: proposed amendments to the federal removal statute. Emory Law Journal, 43: 83-151.
Zwiers, M. (2015). Senator James Eastland: Mississippi’s Jim Crow Democrat. Baton Rouge, La.: LSU Press.
CASES
Attitude Express, Inc. v. Zarda (2020). 590 U.S. ____ (United States Supreme Court)
Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia (2020). 590 U.S. ____ (United States Supreme Court)
Burlington Industries, Inc. v. Ellerth (1998). 524 U.S. 742 (United States Supreme Court)
Chrapliwy v. Uniroyal (1982). 670 F.2d 760 (United Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit)
Cleveland Bd. of Ed. v. LaFleur (1974). 414 U.S. 632 (United States Supreme Court)
Civil Rights Cases (1883). 109 U.S. 3 (United States Supreme Court)
Dawson v. Bumble & Bumble (2005). 398 F.3d 211 (United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit)
Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (1998). 574 U.S. 775 (United States Supreme Court)
Franklin v. Gwinnett County Public Schools (1992). 503 U.S. 60 (United States Supreme Court)
Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1974). 401 U.S. 424 (United States Supreme Court)
Grimm v. United States (1915). 238 U.S. 347 (United States Supreme Court)
Harris v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020). 590 U.S. ____ (United States Supreme Court)
Hazelwood School Dist. v. United States (1977). 433 U. S. 299 (United States Supreme Court)
Heart of Atlanta Motel Inc. v. United States (1964). 379 U.S. 241 (United States Supreme Court)
Johnson v. Transportation Agency (1987). 480 U.S. 616 (United States Supreme Court)
Katzenbach v. McClung (1964). 379 U.S. 294 (United States Supreme Court)
Lassiter v. Northampton County Board of Elections (1959). 360 U.S. 45 (United States Supreme Court)
Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (2007). 550 US. 618 (United States Supreme Court)
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986). 477 U.S. 57 (United States Supreme Court)
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Serv., Inc. (1998). 523 U.S. 76 (United States Supreme Court)
Shelby County v. Holder (2013). 507 U.S. 529 (United States Supreme Court)
Simonton v. Runyon (2000). 232 F.3d 33 (United State Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit)
Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine (1981). 450 U. S. 248 (United States Supreme Court
Wards Cove Packing Co. v. Atonio (1989). 490 U.S. 642 (United States Supreme Court)
Washington v. Davis (1976). 426 U.S. 229 (United States Supreme Court)
STATUTES
Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. 29 U.S.C. Section 621 to Section 634.
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. 42 U.S.C. Section 12101.
Civil Rights Act of 1875. 18 Stat. 335–337.
Civil Rights Act of 1964. Public Law 88-352, 78 U.S. Statutes 241.
Civil Rights Act of 1991. Public Law 102-166.
Equal Pay Act of 1963. Public Law 88-38.
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Public Law 111-2.
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009). 18 U.S.C. Section 249.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Public Law 93-112.
WEBPAGES
Justia. Available: https://www.justia.com/ (last accessed June 23, 2020).
Quote Park.Com. Available: https://quotepark.com/authors/james-eastland/ (last accessed June 24, 2020).
Senate Historical Office. Available: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Senate_Historical_Office.htm?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000595 (last accessed June 24, 2020)
United States Department of Justice. Community Relations Service. Available: https://www.justice.gov/crs (last accessed June 24, 2020)
United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (Title VII, 29 CFR Part 1604, 1605, 1606). Available: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/cm-625-bona-fide-occupational-qualifications (last accessed June 22, 2020).
United States Senate. Civil Rights Act of 1964. Available: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/civil_rights/cloture_finalpassage.htm (last accessed June 22, 2020)