What Laws Does EEOC Enforce?

The EEOC enforces the federal laws against job discrimination and harassment. Currently, EEOC has enforcement responsibility for the following federal employment discrimination laws:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which makes it illegal to discriminate against a person on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), or national origin. The law also protects you from retaliation if you complain about discrimination , participate in an employment discrimination proceeding (for example, a discrimination investigation or lawsuit), or reasonably oppose discrimination (for example, resisting unwanted sexual advances or helping protect co-workers from unwanted sexual advances).
• The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which amended Title VII to make it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth.
• The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022 (PWFA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations (changes to the way things are normally done at work) to employees who are covered by the law and are affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, if the reasonable accommodations would not cause an undue hardship (significant difficulty or expense) for the employer. The law protects you from retaliation if you complain about discrimination, participate in an EEO proceeding (for example, a discrimination investigation or lawsuit), or reasonably oppose discrimination. 
• The Equal Pay Act of 1963, which makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also protects you from retaliation if you complain about discrimination or participate in an EEOC proceeding (for example, a discrimination investigation or lawsuit).
• Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), which makes it illegal to discriminate against a person with a disability in private companies and state and local governments. The law also protects you from retaliation if you complain about discrimination or participate in an EEOC proceeding (for example, a discrimination investigation or lawsuit).
• Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which makes it illegal to discriminate against a person with a disability in the federal government. The law also protects you from retaliation if you complain about discrimination or participate in an EEOC proceeding (for example, a discrimination investigation or lawsuit).
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects people who are age 40 or older from discrimination because of age. The law also protects you from retaliation if you complain about discrimination or participate in an EEOC proceeding (for example, a discrimination investigation or lawsuit).
• Title II of The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which makes it illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants because of genetic information. Genetic information includes information about an individual's genetic tests and the genetic tests of an individual's family members, as well as information about any disease, disorder or condition of an individual's family members (i.e. an individual's family medical history). The law also protects you from retaliation if you complain about discrimination or participate in an EEOC proceeding (for example, a discrimination investigation or lawsuit).