Civil Rights
By law, all Americans are to be treated equally, regardless of their race, sex, sexual preference, skin color, religion, age, national origin, physical or mental disabilities, English proficiency, pregnancy status, veteran status, marital status, weight condition, or other orientations.Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons
Even institutionalized people have civil rights. The rights of people residing in jails, juvenile correctional facilities, nursing homes, and mental institutions are represented by the U.S. Attorney General. Under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, the attorney general is responsible for discovering and correcting conditions that are flagrant or regular patterns of behavior that impact residents’ civil rights.
Basic Civil Rights
In addition, civil rights now includes the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) with national standards to protect the privacy of personal health information. The set of laws granting privileges and protection from discrimination are known as civil rights laws, which are part of the U.S. Constitution. Other civil rights include the right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, right to vote, right of assembly, and freedom from involuntary servitude.
Civil Discrimination Cases
When a person is denied the right to equal treatment, illegal discrimination occurs. Specific statutes have been enacted to prevent discrimination in public establishments (such as restaurants and hotels), schools and colleges, places of religious worship, places of entertainment, places where people vote, and reproductive health clinics. Discrimination is also prohibited in employment matters where the employer engages in interstate commerce.
Businesses retain attorneys to ensure they are in compliance with civil rights laws. Attorneys are also retained by individuals, or by class action groups, to represent them as plaintiffs who have been wrongfully discriminated against. Business organizations also rely on them for representation in discrimination lawsuits.
Examples of discriminatory denial of civil rights include unfair housing practices; figuring interest rates based on discrimination to a certain class, sex, and others; denying organizational membership; preference in job assignments; denial of job promotions; unfair hiring and termination practices. Employment discrimination laws do not apply to independent contractors, who are not employees.
Civil rights laws have evolved greatly over time and continue to change as the culture changes. Recent years have seen many changes in civil rights and discrimination laws on state and local levels in matters regarding sexual orientation and homosexuality, for instance. Civil rights laws can be modified on state and local levels to exceed federal law provisions, but can never diminish constitutional civil rights.
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