An employee cannot be treated indifferently
because of his/her
marital status. If the employer
discriminates against an applicant or employee
because he/she is married, widowed, divorced, single,
or unmarried with a same-sex or opposite-sex partner,
it is in violation of state and federal law.
At the time of a job interview, the applicant cannot
be asked questions that would point to marital status
or family orientation. Questions such as “Are
you married?” “Do you
have a family?” “What
is your maiden name?” “Are
you pregnant?” or “Do
you plan to have a family?” are in
violation of the law and can be used for a lawsuit.
Marital status discrimination can be accompanied
by other forms of discrimination, such as parental
status, pregnancy, or sex discrimination.
At the workplace, the employee cannot be treated
differently because of his/her marital status. There
should be no discrimination at the time of assignment
of work, promotions, wages, benefits, etc. Here’s
an example of discrimination because of marital status:
The employer sets different hours of work for single
and married employees, or promotes a married employee
because he/she may be more responsible. Sometimes
the employer may not offer health insurance coverage
to single employees with domestic partners, but provides
the coverage to spouses and families of married employees.
Marital status discrimination is not covered by Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, many
federal government employees are covered by provisions
in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 that prohibit
marital status discrimination. Some states and cities
also have statutes prohibiting marital status discrimination.
In the federal government the Civil Service Reform
Act of 1978 (CSRA), as amended, prohibits federal
employees who have authority to take—or to direct
others to take, recommend or approve—any personnel
action discriminating against applicants and employees
on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national
origin, age, disability, marital status, or political
affiliation, and from discriminating against an applicant
or employee on the basis of conduct which does not
adversely affect the performance of the applicant
or employee. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
has interpreted the prohibition of discrimination
based on "conduct" to include discrimination
based on sexual orientati.
The Office of Special Council (OSC) and the Merit
Systems Protection Board (MSPB) enforce the prohibitions
against federal employment discrimination codified
in the CSRA. The OSC will defer those bases of discrimination
under EEOC's jurisdiction to the respective federal
agency and its EEO process. The CSRA also prohibits
employment discrimination in the federal government
based on marital status, political affiliation, or
conduct which does not adversely affect the performance
of the employee—none of which are within EEOC's
jurisdiction.
