Employment Practices: Does Your School Discriminate?

Does your school practise discrimination in its hiring and firing of employees? Of course not, you reply. But let's look at discrimination more closely, then consult your attorney to make sure your school's practices will stand up to scrutiny and, more importantly, a legal challenge.

What are the federal laws prohibiting job discrimination?

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
• the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
• the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older;
• Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments;
• Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the federal government; and
• the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which provides monetary damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.

Some of the employment issues of which you ought to be aware include:

Hiring

• Knowing how long to keep resumes
• Keeping notes of employment interviews
• Knowing what questions are illegal to ask

Termination

• Documenting personnel performance
• What to do when an employment application is falsified
• How to terminate an employee for misconduct

Note that private schools with 15 or more employees are covered by most of the federal laws cited above. Each act has its specific minimum. You should be aware of those numbers. In addition you should be fully cognizant of your state's laws governing your school's operations.
 
 

Disclaimer: This information is not a substitute for proper legal advice. I encourage you to consult with your attorney about this and all other legal matters pertaining to the running of your school.

As usual I am not concerned about the medium to large sized schools which generally have legal counsel readily available. It's the smaller schools which need to realize that they are very much covered by layers of federal and state laws. You would be well advised to have a committee of your board review these compliance issues and others on a regular basis.
 

--Rob Kennedy, Private Schools Guide

Related Links
Federal Laws Prohibiting Job Discrimination Questions And Answers
Discrimination and Equal Rights 
Employment & Discrimination Issues 

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