Legal Responsibilities

Legislation regulating the employment procedures of Wake County Government is outlined below:

1. The 1963 Equal Pay Act states that an employer may not pay an employee of one gender less than it pays an employee of the opposite gender for work that is performed under similar working conditions and that requires equal skill, effort and responsibility.
   
   
2. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended, prohibits discrimination in any personnel practices, against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, gender or national origin.
   
   
3. The 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, prohibits discrimination on the basis of age to persons age 40 or older.
   
   
4. The General Revenue Sharing Act of 1972 further prohibits employment bias on the part of local governments receiving federal assistance under the Act against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, age, physical or mental disability or national origin.
   
   
5. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, prohibits employment discrimination against otherwise qualified applicants on the basis of a disability by any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.
   
   
6. N.C. G.S. 126-16 applies to political subdivisions of the State and prohibits discrimination on the basis of a disability and age when the age is between 40–70 years old.
   
   
7. Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status when the employee/applicant is a legal resident alien who has signed a declaration of intention to become a citizen.
   
   
8. The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against the disabled in both public and private sectors in areas of employment, public services, public accommodations and services provided by private enterprise and telecommunications.
   
   
9. The Civil Rights Act of 1991 strengthens the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The purposes of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 are:
   1. To provide appropriate remedies for intentional discrimination and unlawful harassment in the workplace
   2. To codify the concepts of "business necessity" and "job-related"
   3. To confirm statutory authority and provide guidelines for the adjudication of Title VII disparate impact suits
   4. To respond to recent Supreme Court decisions by expanding the scope of relevant civil rights statutes in order to provide adequate protection to victims of discrimination.
      
      
10. Applicable State, Federal and Local laws affecting employment practices.

Documentation regarding these laws is available in the Human Resources Department.