The Civil Rights Act of 1866 granted citizenship and furthered rights to the newly emancipated slaves at the conclusion of the American Civil War.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in hiring, promotion, discharge, pay, fringe benefits,  job training, classification, referral, and other aspects of employment, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. 

The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Sections 501 and 505 prohibits employment discrimination against individuals with disabilities in the federal sector. Section 505 contains provisions governing remedies and attorney’s fees under Section 501.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a wide-ranging civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability.

The Civil Rights Act of 1991 includes provisions meant to reduce illegal discrimination in employment decisions. Enacted November 21, 1991, the new law applies to all employers who have 15 or more employees in each of 20 or more calendar weeks per year.

According to Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, covered employers must grant an eligible employee up to a total of 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the acceptable reasons.

The NO FEAR Act requires that Federal agencies be accountable for violations of anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection laws. This Act also requires that each Federal agency post quarterly on its public Web site certain statistical data relating to Federal sector equal employment opportunity complaints filed with such agency.

ADA Amendments Act of 2008 overturned a series of Supreme Court decisions that strictly interpreted the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 in a way that made it difficult to prove that an impairment is a “disability.”

29 CFR Part 1614 These regulations cover the U.S. federal sector and are designed to encourage equal employment opportunities