The objective of Congress in enacting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352) was to achieve equality of employment opportunity and to remove artificial, arbitrary and unnecessary barriers that in the past operated invidiously to favor some groups of employees over others. Consequently, Title VII makes it an unlawful employment practice to discriminate on grounds of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

To accomplish these goals, Congress established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as the administering agency for Title VII.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-261) expanded the coverage of Title VII and provided the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with litigation authority to enforce fair employment practice policies. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (P.L. 95-555) clarified the coverage of Title VII by expressly prohibiting discrimination based upon pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions.

Further expansion of the Commission's responsibilities occurred under Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 wherein the Commission acquired jurisdiction in the following areas:

1. All functions related to enforcing or administering Section 6(d) of the Fair Labor Standards Act (Equal Pay Act), 29 U.S.C. §206(d);

2. All functions related to administration and enforcement of Sections 6 and 16 of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §621 et seq.

3. Several functions formerly performed by the Civil Service Commission, including those relating to the processing of federal employee complaints of discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion,

sex, national origin, age, and handicap; the appellate function in "pure" discrimination cases; the appellate function to review "mixed cases,' as described in §205 of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, P.L. 95-454 (5 U.S.C. §7702), after decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board; and functions relating to federal affirmative action programs.

4. Responsibility for providing leadership and coordination to other federal departments and agencies in their efforts to promote equal employment opportunity.

On the following pages are the texts of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, rules and regulations pertaining to the administration of that law; regulations concerning conduct and responsibilities of Commission employees; and regulations concerning disclosure policies.

Added to this revision are pertinent sections of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and relevant executive orders and regulations. Also included are the executive orders and regulations concerning employment discrimination in the federal sector and among government contractors and subcon

tractors.

This publication is intended to inform the public, the business community and government officials about laws, rules and regulations governing employment discrimination and unfair employment practices and to assist Commission personnel in their daily work in carrying out the EEOC's enforcement responsibilities. It is produced in looseleaf form so that new statutory and other authorities may be inserted to keep the compendium current.