The Fair Employment Practices Act was created by Franklin Roosevelt in 1941.

After the creation of the law, the Fair Employment Practices Committee was formed, in

order to implement the law. This Act banned discriminatory employment practices. The

need for this law stemmed from minorities not being able to compete competitively

within the workplace. The implementation of this Act, created a more diverse workplace,

with an increased number of employed minorities. Most states in the US have local

agencies that are responsible for the adequate implementation of these federal policies.

Therefore many policies differ state-wide. The policies do not only offer protection from

minority discrimination, but also age, religion, gender, to name a few.

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits the discrimination against people

with disabilities within the workplace. The committee created to create the regulations is

a federal agency within the Department of Labor. The committee that enforces

requirements is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

It is important to understand the concepts and policies of both the Fair

Employment Practices Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, because it is crucial

to know the regulations that protect employees within the workplace. While these acts

both include policies that are contingent on both states and agencies, the basic

information is most predominately the same.

During the hiring process, it is illegal to ask or request many things. The laws

have come from the implementation of the above mentioned acts. The laws do not

describe specific questions that cannot be asked, but instead include information that

cannot be obtained from a potential employee during the hiring process. It is unlawful to
request any information that would divulge data that would lead to the approximation of

someones age. It is also unlawful to request information about someones marital or

family status. An example of this would be asking an interview candidate if they plan to

start a family. Lastly, an interview question that is deemed illegal is anything that relates

to the employees religion, or lack thereof.