Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofit Organizations

64 Human Resources Management for Public and Nonprofi t Organizations

are equally qualifi ed. Complaints of discrimination are processed in the

Justice Department by the Offi ce of Special Counsel for Unfair Immigration -

Related Employment Practice.

Civil Rights Act of 1991

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 (CRA) was passed by Congress on

November 7, 1991, and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on

November 21, 1991. The CRA provides additional remedies to protect

against and deter unlawful discrimination and harassment in employment

and to restore the strength of federal antidiscrimination laws that many

felt had been weakened by several Supreme Court decisions.

The CRA amends fi ve civil rights statutes: Title VII of the Civil

Rights Act of 1964, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990,

the Age Discrimination Act of 1967, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the

Civil Rights Attorney ’ s Fee Awards Act of 1976. In addition, three new

laws were created: Section 1981A of Title 42 of the U.S. Code, the Glass

Ceiling Act of 1991, and the Government Employee Rights Act of

1991. Compensatory and punitive damages were made available to the
      victims of private and nonprofi t employers. Public employees are now
      entitled to only compensatory damages. There is a cap on damages
      permitted under the law that is determined by the number of workers
      employed by an organization.
      The CRA extended the application of Title VII and the ADA
      to U.S. citizens working abroad for U.S. - based employers. It extended
      the application of Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA to previously
      unprotected Senate employees, allowing them to redress employment
      discrimination claims through internal procedures and a limited right of
      appeal in federal court.

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed by President Bill

Clinton shortly after his inauguration in January 1993 and took effect on

August 5 of that year. The FMLA applies to all public agencies, includ-

ing state, local, and federal employers; educational institutions; business

entities engaged in commerce or in an industry affecting commerce; and

private sector employers who employ fi fty or more employees in twenty or

more work weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, including joint

employers and successors of covered employers.