Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibited employment practices that discriminate on the basis of sex. Title VII applies to all employers with 15 employees or more and basically prohibits sex/gender-based discrimination in hiring, advancement, or any other condition of employment. Most states also have fair employment laws that cover smaller employers. One problem that has arisen is it’s very difficult to determine what constitutes a distinction made “on the basis of sex.” Over the years, such acts have generally fallen into two classes: intentional acts of discrimination involving disparate treatment of one gender, and unintentional discrimination. An employer can take several steps to minimize this risk:

• Use gender-neutral terms in advertisements and job postings;
• Do not ask the applicant’s gender on application forms;
• Avoid personal questions on the applications, particularly those regarding the applicant’s marital or family status;
• Implement a clear nondiscrimination policy and enforce it uniformly; and
• Establish a policy to prevent sexual harassment.