Title VII Compliance Checklist and FAQs for Employers

This is the third page on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. It turns the rules and numbers into a yearly check, lists frequent errors and answers common questions. For the basics, see the Title VII overview. Pay rules are on the FLSA pages.

The Hire-to-Exit Fairness Walk

The Hire-to-Exit Fairness Walk is our name for a yearly review that follows an employee's path from the job ad to the final paycheck. The owner and one manager can run it together.

1. Count heads for the current and preceding calendar year to see whether you had 15 employees in 20 or more weeks, and which damages tier applies.
2. Read your job ads and interview questions for any preference or limit tied to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, nationality or visa status.
3. Name who hears complaints, ideally someone other than the supervisor, and how quickly each complaint is looked at and written up.
4. Set a simple routine for religious and pregnancy accommodation requests, using the substantial-burden test and treating pregnancy like other temporary limits.
5. Before discipline or a firing of someone who recently complained, have a second person review the reasons.
6. Post the EEOC notice where employee notices are kept, consider a digital copy too, as the EEOC encourages, and keep personnel records at least 1 year.
7. Train managers on complaints and accommodations, and keep demographic data out of hiring and firing decisions.

Common mistakes

• No complaint channel, or sitting on a complaint after it is made.
• Reprimands, schedule changes or extra scrutiny aimed at someone who complained.
• Refusing a religious schedule or dress request because the cost is small.
• Ads or hiring that prefer visa workers or one nationality.
• Throwing away personnel files before 1 year, or after a charge arrives.
• A missing or outdated EEOC notice.
• Pushing a pregnant worker out instead of accommodating her or treating her like others with similar limits.

When to talk to an attorney

A CPA cannot answer legal questions like these. Employers commonly consult an employment attorney about:

• An EEOC or Illinois Department of Human Rights charge, a right-to-sue notice or a subpoena.
• A harassment complaint involving an owner or manager, or one that may affect a group of workers.
• A termination soon after a complaint, accommodation request or leave.
• A severance agreement, release or nondisclosure agreement tied to a discrimination claim.

Frequently asked questions