Equal employment opportunity
Equal employment opportunity is equal opportunity in employment. Examples of legislation to foster it or to protect it from eroding include the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which was established by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to assist in the protection of United States employees from discrimination. The law was the first federal law designed to protect most US employees from employment discrimination based upon that employee's (or applicant's) race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (Public Law 88-352, July 2, 1964, 78 Stat. 253, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et. seq.). Employment discrimination entails areas such as firing, hiring, promotions, transfer or wage practices and it is also illegal to discriminate in advertising, referral of job applicants, or classification. The Title is pertinent in companies affecting commerce that have fifteen or more employees. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is section 705 of the title.
Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB
The National Labor Relations Act was first instituted by Senator Robert Wagner (D) of the state of New York in 1935. Senator Wagner submitted a bill to congress to eliminate unfair labor practices of businesses. The NLRA outlines benefits and rights of employees. One of the most important sections of the NLRA is section 7 which gives employees rights to organize labor unions without the fear of retaliation from their employer. Section 7 states, "Employees shall the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection." The Wagner Act or National Labor Relations Act was used for the Nation Labor Relations Board, NLRB to bring the case to The Supreme Court with their determination based on the Wagner act was violated by Hoffman Plastics for firing Castro and others for contributing to the Union organizing at the plant. Section 7 entitles workers to organize, or join a Union if they are so desired. It is also protected under the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution of the United States Of America. There have been numerous cases brought to the courts by violators such as Walmart for firing employees for threats of employees organizing labor forces to better job benefits such as pay, medical insurance and paid time off. In 2002, the NLRB brought more than 40 cases to court regarding violations of section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act against Walmart.