Laws, regulations and rights relevant for the Asian female

The U.S. enacted discrimination laws that protect us from being treated differently, given opportunity differently, or serviced differently based on color, race, national origin, religion, gender, or disability. Knowing our rights and U.S. regulations will help ensure that we are treated fairly in and out of the workplace. We curated some of the more impactful regulations, but by no means is it a full and exhaustive list.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), effective June 27, 2023, is a new law that requires covered employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an “undue hardship.”

Caste Discrimination Ban in Seattle, Washington

The measure, effective March 25, 2023 in the city of Seattle Washington, amends Seattle’s anti-discrimination ordinance to include “caste” as a protected classification under the city’s law. The ordinance equates caste with other protected classifications such as race and gender. Seattle businesses are prohibited from discriminating based on caste with respect to hiring, tenure, promotion, workplace conditions, or wages. The ordinance also bans discrimination based on caste in places of public accommodation or housing.

COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act

This statute, enacted in 2021, directs the Department of Justice to speed up the review of hate crimes for bringing charges. The Department must also work to improve the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents in light of the rise in anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. To meet this goal, the law requires the Department to reach out to law enforcement agencies and to provide them with helpful tools and resources for reporting, enforcing, and preventing hate crimes.

Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021

This bill invalidates arbitration agreements that preclude a party from filing a lawsuit in court involving sexual assault or sexual harassment, at the election of the party alleging such conduct. In other words, victims of sexual assault and/or harassment can bring suit in court and not be forced to arbitrate their legal claims, even if they previously signed an arbitration agreement.

Title VII (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964)

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate applicants’ and employees’ sincerely held religious practices, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave a year, and requires group health benefits to be maintained during the leave as if employees continued to work instead of taking leave. Employees are also entitled to return to their same or an equivalent job at the end of their FMLA leave.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act

This law 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 law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)

This law makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform equal work in the same workplace. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)

This law protects people who are 40 or older from discrimination because of age. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)

This law makes it illegal to discriminate against a qualified person with a disability in the private sector and in state and local governments. The law also makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit. The law also requires that employers reasonably accommodate the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified individual with a disability who is an applicant or employee, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the employer’s business.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)

Effective November 21, 2009. This law 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 makes it illegal to retaliate against a person because the person complained about discrimination, filed a charge of discrimination, or participated in an employment discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Title IX part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972

Title IX promises equal access to education for all students and it protects them against discrimination on the basis of sex. Title IX was enacted to ensure: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Enacted on October 28, 1974, the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) makes it unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction, on the basis of: Race, Color, Religion, National Origin, Sex, Marital Status, Age, Income Derived from Public Assistance, or having exercised their rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

Title VIII Of The Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act, as amended 1988)

Prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental or financing of housing based on: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Familial Familial Status or Disability

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Government Resources

US Department of Labor: Worker’s Rights

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

US Department of Education (Title IX) and Sex Discrimination

US Congress