Over the past century strides have been made to ensure that everyone, regardless of background, can achieve the same opportunities when it comes to employment. Below, we will cover multiple pieces of legislation that have passed that are there to ensure equal opportunities for all.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964:

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. Another important feature of this law is that it makes it illegal to retaliate against an employee because they complained about discrimination.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963:

This act makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they are performing equal work in the same workplace. It is important to note that according to the department of labor, women make 82 cents for every dollar a man makes. Remember, discussing wages at work is not illegal, and if you are told otherwise, report your employer to Texas Workforce Commission.

The Age Discrimination Act of 1967:

This act ensures that no one over the age of 40 can be discriminated against in the workplace based on age.

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990:

This act was designed to ensure that any qualified disabled person can not be discriminated against in the private sector, as well as state and local government.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008:

This act ensures that you can not be discriminated against based on genetic information collected on you, including things such as family health history.

It is important to remember that the fight to ensure the safety and inclusion of all peoples in the workforce is never-ending. Today we may take these rights for granted, but within the past 50 years, there have been those that have fought tooth and nail to secure them for all Americans.

“This is one country. It has become one country because all of us and all the people who came here had an equal chance to develop their talents. We cannot say to 10% of the population that you can’t have that right; that your children cannot have the chance to develop whatever talents they have; that the only way that they are going to get their rights is to go in the street and demonstrate. I think we owe them and we owe ourselves a better country than that.” President John F. Kennedy