Employment Discrimination and Equal Opportunity
This domain tests the federal equal-employment statutes, the three proof frameworks courts use, and the procedural gates that decide most real cases.
Coverage and procedure
- Title VII (15+ employees): race, color, religion, sex - including pregnancy (PDA), sexual orientation and gender identity (Bostock, 2020) - and national origin.
- ADEA (20+): age 40 and over. ADA (15+): disability, with reasonable accommodation. EPA: equal pay for substantially equal work. §1981: race, no damages cap, no EEOC charge required. GINA: genetic information.
- An EEOC charge must be filed within 180 days (300 in deferral states); a right-to-sue letter allows suit within 90 days.
Proof frameworks
- Disparate treatment - McDonnell Douglas: prima facie case, employer's legitimate nondiscriminatory reason, then pretext.
- Mixed motive - §703(m): discrimination was a motivating factor; the employer's same-decision defense limits relief but not liability.
- Disparate impact - Griggs; the employer must show job-relatedness and business necessity, and the plaintiff may offer a less discriminatory alternative.
- Harassment: unwelcome conduct severe or pervasive; Faragher/Ellerth shields employers from supervisor harassment only absent a tangible employment action and only with a proven policy and complaint mechanism.
- Retaliation: materially adverse action (Burlington Northern) but "but-for" causation (Nassar).
- Remedies: back pay, reinstatement, fees; compensatory and punitive damages capped at $50,000–$300,000 by employer size for Title VII and ADA; ADEA adds liquidated damages for willful violations.
Worked example
A 52-year-old regional manager earning top ratings is replaced by a 28-year-old, and her director says, "we need fresh energy." Prima facie case: protected class, qualified, discharged, replaced by a substantially younger person. The employer offers declining sales - but the file shows sales exceeded target, and the replacement's prior territory performed worse. That combination supports pretext; the "fresh energy" remark supports a willful violation, exposing the employer to liquidated damages.
Traps
- Applying Title VII damages caps to §1981 or ADEA claims, which have none.
- Confusing the motivating-factor standard (status claims) with but-for causation (retaliation).
- Treating rude behavior as actionable harassment without severity or pervasiveness.
- Missing the 90-day right-to-sue window.