Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)

You are covered by the discrimination provisions of Title VII¹ if you engage in an “industry affecting commerce” (almost all employers) and employ or have employed 15 or more employees for each working day in 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.

Under Title VII employers can’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, all of which are addressed in detail below in the section discussing protected classes and the types of discrimination.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA), an amendment to Title VII, requires that²