DEI Workplace Policy and Legal Frameworks 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin for employers with 15 or more employees?
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Correct answer)
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
- Executive Order 11246
Correct answer: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the landmark federal law prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Question 2: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide 'reasonable accommodation' unless doing so would cause what?
- Minor inconvenience to coworkers
- Undue hardship on the employer (Correct answer)
- A change in job description
- Any additional cost to the company
Correct answer: Undue hardship on the employer
The ADA requires reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship — significant difficulty or expense — on the employer.
Question 3: Which federal agency is primarily responsible for enforcing federal workplace anti-discrimination laws?
- Department of Labor (DOL)
- Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) (Correct answer)
- National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
Correct answer: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The EEOC is the federal agency charged with enforcing laws that prohibit employment discrimination, including Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA.
Question 4: Affirmative Action plans are most commonly required for which type of employer?
- All private employers with more than 50 employees
- Federal contractors and subcontractors above certain dollar thresholds (Correct answer)
- State government agencies only
- Employers in industries with historical union agreements
Correct answer: Federal contractors and subcontractors above certain dollar thresholds
Executive Order 11246 requires federal contractors and subcontractors meeting specific dollar thresholds to develop written Affirmative Action plans.
Question 5: Under Title VII, 'disparate impact' discrimination refers to what type of practice?
- Intentional discrimination against a protected class
- A neutral policy that disproportionately affects a protected group (Correct answer)
- Harassment based on a protected characteristic
- Retaliation against an employee who filed a complaint
Correct answer: A neutral policy that disproportionately affects a protected group
Disparate impact occurs when a facially neutral employment policy or practice disproportionately disadvantages members of a protected class, regardless of intent.
Question 6: Which law specifically prohibits pay discrimination between men and women performing substantially equal work in the same establishment?
- Title IX of the Education Amendments
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (Correct answer)
- The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
- Executive Order 13672
Correct answer: The Equal Pay Act of 1963
The Equal Pay Act of 1963 requires that men and women receive equal pay for substantially equal work performed under similar working conditions in the same establishment.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of an organization's written DEI policy statement?
- To satisfy a federal legal mandate for all employers
- To articulate the organization's commitment to diversity and set the foundation for DEI initiatives (Correct answer)
- To replace individual performance management processes
- To document past instances of discrimination for legal protection
Correct answer: To articulate the organization's commitment to diversity and set the foundation for DEI initiatives
A DEI policy statement formally communicates organizational values, sets expectations, and provides the foundational framework upon which DEI programs and accountability structures are built.
DEI Workplace Policy and Legal Frameworks 1
Which federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin for employers with 15 or more employees?