Regulatory and Legal Acts and Executive Orders

This section is designed to help you quickly and easily see and discover all the employment related legislation and briefly review the meaning and intent of important Acts and Executive Orders. The table that follows is presented in chronological order of when legislation was passed, and presents a brief description of each law.

YEAR	ACTS	BASIC PROVISIONS
1866	Civil Rights Act, Section 1981	Gives all persons, regardless of race, age, and national origin, the same contractual rights as Caucasians; does not apply to sex-based discrimination
1871	Civil Rights Act, Section 1983	Gives all persons, regardless of race, age, and national origin, the same contractual rights as Caucasians; does apply to sex-based discrimination.
1890	Sherman Anti-Trust Act	Prohibits businesses in interstate commerce from contracting, combining, or conspiring to restrain trade; prohibits attempting to monopolize the market in a particular area of business.
1914	Clayton Act	Exempts unions from the Sherman Anti-Trust Act; limits the use of injunctions to stop a strike.
1926	Railway Labor Act	Provides the right to organize and for majority choice of representatives; prohibits “yellow dog” contracts and outlines dispute settlement procedures; covers railroad and airline employees.
1931	Davis-Bacon Act	Requires payment of specified wage rates and fringe benefits on federal government contracts for public-works construction in excess of $2,000.
1932	Norris-LaGuardia Act	Prohibits “yellow dog” contracts and injunctions for nonviolent activity of unions (strikes, picketing, and boycotts); limits union liability and covers all employers and labor organizations.
1933	National Industrial Recovery Act	Guarantees employees the right to join unions and bargain collectively; this law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935.
1934	Copeland “Anti-Kickback” Act	Prohibits contractors from inducing anyone in the construction or repair of public works to give up any portion of the compensation to which they are otherwise entitled.
1934	Securities and Exchange Act	Extends the “disclosure” doctrine of investor protection to securities listed and registered for public trading on our national securities exchanges.
1935	Walsh-Healy Act (Public Contracts Act)	Guarantees prevailing wages to employees of government contractors with contracts of $10,000 or more.
1935	Social Security Act (OASDHI)	Provides income and health care to retired employees and income to survivors of employees who have died; covers virtually all employers.
1935	Unemployment Compensation	Covers virtually all employers and provides income to employees who have been fired or laid off.
1935	National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) a.k.a., Wagner Act	Provides the right to organize and for collective bargaining; requires employers to bargain; unions must represent all members equally; covers non-managerial employees in private industry (not already covered by the Railway Labor Act).
1938	Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA)	Establishes a minimum wage, controls hours through premium pay for overtime, controls working hours for children and covers most interstate employers. However, there are some exceptions.
1947	Labor-Management Relations Act (LMRA) a.k.a., Taft-Hartley	Prohibits unfair labor practices of unions, outlaws closed shop, prohibits strikes in national emergencies, requires both parties to bargain in good faith and covers non-managerial employees in private industry (not covered by the Railway Labor Act).
1959	Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act a.k.a., Landrum-Griffin Act	Outlines procedures for redressing internal union problem and covers all labor organizations.
1963	Equal Pay Act (amendment to FLSA)	Prohibits unequal pay for males and females with equal skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions. No employers are exempt.
1963	False Claims Act	Protects and rewards citizens willing to alert U.S. government to contractor fraud.
1964	Civil Rights Act (amended by EEOA 1972)	Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; establishes the EEOC; covers employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies and labor unions.

1965	Executive Order 11246 amended by 11375 (1966)	Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Establishes OFCCP and covers federal contractors and subcontractors with contracts over $50,000 and 50 employees.
1965	Service Contract Act	Extends prevailing wage rates and fringe benefit requirements to employers providing services under federal government contracts in excess of $25,000.
1967	Age Discrimination in Employment Act, amended 1978, 1986	Prohibits discrimination against persons age 40 and over. Identifies compulsory retirement for some workers and covers employers with more than 25 employees.
1968	Wage Garnishment Act	Title III of the Consumer Credit Protection Act; limits amount of an employee’s earnings which may be garnished and protects the employee from being fired if pay is garnished for debt.
1969	Executive Order 11478	Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; covers federal agencies.
1969	Coal Mine Safety and Health Act	Early legislation which established mine safety and health standards; provides the basis for the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.
1970	Fair Credit Reporting Act	Requires employers to notify individual if applications are denied on the basis of information in consumer credit reports.
1970	Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)	Assures as far as possible, every man and woman in the nation safe and healthful working conditions and preserves “human” resources. Covers most interstate employers.
1972	Equal Employment Opportunity Act (EEOA)	Amends Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: increases the enforcement powers of the EEOC, adds employees of state and local government and educational institutions.
1973	Vocational Rehabilitation Act, amended 1980	Prohibits discrimination against persons with physical and/or mental handicaps and provides for affirmative action. Covers government contractors and federal agencies.
1973	Health Maintenance Act	Requires employers with more than 25 employees to provide workers with the option of joining a federally qualified health maintenance organization (HMO).

1974	Employee Retirement Income Security (ERISA)	Protects employees covered by a pension plan from losses in benefits due to job changes, plant closings, bankruptcies, or mismanagement. Covers most interstate employers.
1974	Privacy Act	Covers federal agencies and allows individuals to review their employers’ records on them and bring civil damages.
1974	Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Act	Provides for the affirmative action in employment of Vietnam-era veterans and covers government contractors with contracts in excess of $10,000.
1976	Copyright Act	Covers the life of the author plus 50 years. Exclusive rights of the author are limited to permit “fair use” of copyrighted work.
1977	Mine Safety and Health Act 6	Establishes mandatory mine safety and health standards for underground and surface mines. Covers metal and nonmetal mines.
1978	Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures	Outlines Equal Employment Opportunity principles to more clearly define adverse impact and test validation. Coverage the same as for the Civil Rights Act, as amended.
1978	Pregnancy Discrimination Act	Defines pregnancy as a short-term disability and must receive the same benefits as any other short-term disability; falls within Title VII prohibition of sexual discrimination. Employers with 15 or more employees are covered.
1978	Civil Service Reform Act	Establishes Senior Executive Service (SES) and defines grievance procedures and requirements for goal-type performance appraisals. Covers federal employees.
1978	Revenue Act	Adds two important sections to the Tax Code, relevant to employee benefits: Section 125 and 401(k).
1980	Guidelines on Sexual Harassment	Coverage the same as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; defines standards for what constitutes harassment.
1984	Retirement Equity Act	Provides certain legal protections for spousal beneficiaries of qualified retirement programs.

1985	Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation	Amends IRS code and ERISA to require that most employers provide continued health insurance coverage to terminated or separated employees and family members at group rates (plus administrative costs) paid by employee.
1986	Immigration Reform and Control Act	Attempts to deal with problems arising from the flow of immigrants into the U.S. Requires an I-9 to be completed by the employer and the new hire.
1986	Tax Reform Act	Makes extensive changes in the tax laws including reduction in tax brackets and all tax rates for individuals.
1988	Employee Polygraph Protection Act	Covers all private employers. Prohibits polygraph testing of employees without reasonable suspicion.
1988	Drug-Free Workplace Act	Requires employers to maintain drug-free workplace. Covers federal contractors with contracts exceeding $25,000.
1988	Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act	Requires at least 60 days notice of plant or office closing. Covers employers with 100 or more employees.
1990	Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)	Protects individuals with disabilities against discrimination. Covers virtually all employers with 15 or more employees.
1990	Older Worker Benefit Protection Act	Prohibits discrimination with regard to benefits on the basis of age. Covers employers with 25 or more employees.
1990	Immigration Act	Amends the employer-verification and unfair immigration-related employment practices defined by the IRCA.
1993	Family and Medical Leave Act	Covers employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. Guarantees 12 weeks per year in paid or unpaid leave for birth or adoption of child or serious illness of employee or immediate family member.
1993	Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act	Reduces compensation limits in qualified retirement programs. Triggers increased activity in nonqualified retirement programs as well as some plan terminations.
1995	Executive Order 12954	Bars federal contractors from hiring permanent striker replacements.
1995	Congressional Accountability Act	Requires that any federal employee relations legislation enacted by Congress applies to the employees of Congress as well.
Dates Vary	Workers’ Compensation	Covers virtually all employers; provides benefits to employees who have been injured on the job and to the survivors of employees who have been killed on the job.
Dates Vary	Fifth Amendment	Covers all citizens and states that no person will be deprived of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law.
Dates Vary	Fourteenth Amendment	Covers all citizens and prohibits abridgment of federally conferred privileges by actions of the state.