412 CHAPTER 13|CIVIL RIGHTS
Among other amendments to civil rights laws, most important were the 1975
amendments to the VRA that extended coverage of many of the law’s provisions to
language minorities; the 1982 VR A amendments, which extended important provi-
sions of the law for 25 years and made it easier to bring a lawsuit under the act; the
1991 Civil Rights Act; and the 2006 extension of the VR A for another 25 years. The
1991 law overruled or altered parts of 12 Supreme Court decisions that had eroded the
intent of Congress when it passed the civil rights legislation. It expanded earlier leg-
islation and increased the costs to employers for intentional, illegal discrimination.PROTECTIONS FOR WOMEN
Women have also received extensive protection through legislation. In 1966 the
National Organization for Women (NOW) was formed to push for enforcement
of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which barred discrimination based on gender.
NOW’s members convinced President Johnson to sign an executive order that
eliminated sex discrimination in federal agencies and among federal contractors,
but it was diffi cult to enforce. Finally in 1970 the EEOC started enforcing the law.
Before long, one-third of civil rights cases involved sex discrimination, and those
numbers remain high (see Figure 13.4).
In 1972 Congress passed Title IX of the Higher Education Act, which prohib-
its sex discrimination in institutions that receive federal funds. The law has had
the greatest impact in women’s sports. In the 1960s and 1970s, opportunities for
women to play sports in college or high school were limited owing to few scholar-
ships and small budgets for women’s sports. Though it took nearly 30 years to reach
parity between men and women, most universities are now in compliance with
Title IX. Nonetheless, many men’s sports, such as baseball, tennis, wrestling, and
gymnastics, were cut at universities that had to bring the number of student ath-
letes into rough parity, and critics argued that such cuts were unfair, especially as
the interest in women’s sports was not as high as for men’s sports. Defenders of the
law argue that the gap in interest in women’s and men’s sports will not change until
there is equal opportunity. There is some evidence to support that claim, as inter-
est is increasing in women’s soccer and professional basketball with the WNBA,
as well as in well-established women’s professional sports such as golf and tennis.
Another signifi cant eff ort was the failed Equal Rights Amendment. It was
passed in 1972 with simple wording: “Equality of rights under the law shall not
be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on the account of sex.”
Many states passed it within months, but it fell three states short of the required
38 states after the required seven years. The amendment received a three-year
extension from Congress but still did not get passage by the addi-
tional three states.
In 1994 Congress passed the Violence against Women Act,
which allowed women who were the victims of physical abuse and
violence to sue in federal court. Part of this law was overturned by
the Supreme Court, which ruled that Congress had exceeded its
powers under the commerce clause.^55PROTECTIONS FOR THE DISABLED AND FOR GAY RIGHTS
Other important civil rights legislation included the 1990 Americans
with Disabilities Act, which provided federal protections for disabled
Americans in terms of workplace discrimination and access to pub-
lic facilities. This law produced the curb-cuts in sidewalks, access
for wheelchairs to public buses and trains, special seating in sportsBETTY DUKES, A PLAINTIFF IN A SEXUAL
discrimination lawsuit—the largest
in the nation’s history—fi led
against Wal-Mart, leaves a San
Francisco courthouse with her
attorney. Wal-Mart lost its appeal
to remove the class-action status
for plaintiffs and will face billions
of dollars in damages if it loses the
case.