Multiple Laws Apply When Patients Refuse Caregiver
April 1, 2025
By Greg Freeman
There are several federal laws that protect employees and job applicants from unlawful discrimination in the workplace, explains Chris Kmoch, JD, attorney with the Smith & Malek law firm in Boise, ID.
Most notably, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and its state law equivalents prohibit employers from making decisions concerning the terms and conditions of employment based on an employee or job applicant’s membership in a protected class, he says. Those classes protected by the Act include race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and sexual orientation), and national origin.
This means an employer cannot take an action that adversely impacts the terms and conditions of employment, such as pay, benefits, working hours, job description, job assignments, or place of work, based on the employee belonging to a class protected by law, Kmoch explains. Title VII protection covers the full spectrum of employment decisions, including recruitment, selections, assignments, terminations, and more.
In addition to Title VII, federal law also provides protections to other classes of employees, Kmoch explains. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 protects men and women from sex-based wage discrimination in the payment of wages and benefits who perform substantially equal work in the same establishment. Meanwhile, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, as amended, protects persons age 40 years and older from age-based employment discrimination.
Sections 501 and 503 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, protect employees and job applicants from employment discrimination based on disability, Kmoch says. In addition to these federal laws, there also is a litany of state and local laws that protect employees from unlawful discrimination in the workplace, he says.
Source
- Chris Kmoch, JD, Smith & Malek, Boise, ID. Telephone: (208) 925-2737.
There are several federal laws that protect employees and job applicants from unlawful discrimination in the workplace.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content