Anti-discrimination law

Anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law refers to legislation designed to prevent discrimination against protected groups or protected classes of people, who are almost exclusively minority groups. Anti-discrimination laws vary by jurisdiction with regard to the types of discrimination that are prohibited, and also the groups that are protected by that legislation. Commonly, these types of legislation are designed to prevent discrimination in employment, housing, education, and other areas of social life, such as public accommodations. Some countries mandate that in employment, in consumer transactions and in political participation people must be dealt with on an equal basis regardless of sex, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, mental, sexual orientation, gender identity and sometimes religious and political opinions. Anti-discrimination laws are a component of political correctness.

Examples

Examples of anti-discrimination law include,

• Civil Rights Act of 1964 (United States)
• Race Relations Act 1965 (United Kingdom)
• Race Relations Act 1968 (United Kingdom)
• Title IX of Education Amendments of 1972 (United States)
• Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (United States)
• Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Australia)
• Race Relations Act 1976 (United Kingdom)
• Canadian Human Rights Act (1977, Canada)
• Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 (New South Wales, Australia)
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (United States)
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Australia)
• Race Relations Act 2000 (United Kingdom)
• Equal Treatment Directive (European Union)

Effects

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

Employment rates for disabled men in all age categories, and disabled women under the age of 40, fell sharply after the ADA. Dr. John Bound, professor of economics at the University of Michigan, opined that part of the decrease may be attributed to expansion of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) during the 1970s.

Prior to 1960

Race discrimination laws positively impacted the relative employment and earnings of blacks.

NBER find some evidence that sex discrimination/equal pay laws boosted the relative earnings of black and white females and reduced the relative employment of both black women and white women.

Exceptions

Where anti-discrimination legislation is in force, exceptions are sometimes included in the laws, particularly affecting the military and religions.

Military

In many nations with anti-discrimination legislation, women are excluded from holding certain positions in the military, such as serving in a frontline combat capacity or aboard submarines. The reason given varies; for example, the British Royal Navy cite the reason for not allowing women to serve aboard submarines as medical and related to the safety of an unborn fetus, rather than that of combat effectiveness.

Religious organizations

Some religious organizations are exempted from legislation. For example, in Britain the Church of England, in common with other religious institutions, has historically not allowed women to hold senior positions (bishoprics) despite sex discrimination in employment generally being illegal; the prohibition was confirmed by a vote by the Church synod in 2012.

Selection of teachers and pupils in schools for general education but with a religious affiliation is often permitted by law to be restricted to those of the same religious affiliation even where religious discrimination is forbidden.

See also

• List of anti-discrimination acts
• Labour law
• Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (ILO Convention No. 111)
• Anti-discrimination laws in Brazil
• Employment equity (Canada)
• Employment discrimination law in the United States
• Employment discrimination law in the United Kingdom
• Equality before the law
• History of women in the military
• LGBT rights by country or territory

External links

• Handbook on European non-discrimination law, Fundamental Rights Agency, 2011