Small Business Requirements

As a small business owner and an employer you may have legal responsibilities under the federal employment anti-discrimination laws.

Below you will find the information you need to determine whether the anti-discrimination laws apply to your particular business and if they do, what you need to know!

Do the federal employment anti-discrimination laws apply to my business?

It depends on how many employees your business has:

If you have at least one employee: You are covered by the law that requires employers to provide equal pay for equal work to male and female employees.

If you have 15 to 19 employees: You are covered by the laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability and genetic information (including family medical history). You are also covered by the law that requires employers to provide equal pay for equal work.

If you have 20 or more employees: You are covered by the laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, age (40 or older), disability and genetic information (including family medical history). You are also covered by the law that requires employers to provide equal pay for equal work.

State and/or local employment discrimination laws may also apply to your business. State and local government websites may have information about these laws.

See also:

Who is an “employee” under federal employment discrimination laws?

Your Legal Responsibilities If the Federal Employment Anti-Discrimination Laws Apply to Your Business

Equal Pay for Equal Work

You must provide equal pay to male and female employees who perform the same work unless you can justify a pay difference under the law.

Don’t Discriminate/Harass Because of Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Age, Disability or Genetic Information

You cannot discriminate against or harass applicants, employees or former employees because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information (including family medical history).

Policies/Practices with Negative Effect on Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin or Disabilities

You cannot use employment policies or practices that have a negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular race, color, religion, sex or national origin or applicants or employees with disabilities unless the policies or practices are related to the job and necessary for the operation of your business.

Policies/Practices with Negative Effect on Age 40 or Older

You cannot use employment policies or practices that have a negative effect on applicants or employees who are 40 or older unless the policies or practices are based on a reasonable factor other than age.

Provide Required Reasonable Accommodations

You may be required to provide reasonable accommodations (changes to the way things are normally done at work) because of an applicant’s or employee’s religious beliefs or disability.

Prohibited Requests for Medical or Genetic Information

In general, you cannot request medical or genetic information from applicants. You may request medical or genetic information from employees only in limited circumstances.

If you legally obtain medical or genetic information, you must keep it confidential, with very limited exceptions, and in a separate medical file.

Don’t Retaliate

You cannot retaliate against (punish) an applicant, employee or former employee for reporting discrimination, participating in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit or opposing discrimination (for example, threatening to file a charge or complaint of discrimination).

Inform Employees About the Laws

You must display a poster at your business that describes the federal employment discrimination laws.

Retain Employment Records

You must retain any employment records, such as applications, personnel, payroll and benefits records, as required by law.

Report Workforce Data

If you have 100 or more employees, or if you are a federal contractor with at least 50 employees and at least $50,000 in government contracts, you are required to complete and submit an EEO-1 Report to the EEOC and the U.S. Department of Labor every year.

The EEO-1 Report is a government form that requests data about the ethnicity, race and gender of your workforce.

See also:

Small Business Assistance

Information about a specific discrimination topic? We’ve categorized EEOC material for small businesses categorized by topic, so you can find what you need quickly and easily.  

• General Information

  Is your business covered by the federal employment discrimination laws? How can you resolve an EEOC charge of discrimination without an investigation? And more!

• Legal Requirements

  Information about records that you are required to keep, notices that you are required to post, and reports that you may need to complete. Don’t miss the free “EEO is the Law” poster!

• Age Discrimination

  Can you advertise for young applicants? Can you consider a person’s age when making hiring or other employment decisions? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal law that prohibits age discrimination against people who are 40 or older. Don’t miss the sample waiver and general release for group layoffs that may impact older employees.

• Disability Discrimination

  Can you ask applicants about their health or medical condition? Are you required to provide medical leave? Are tax benefits available for hiring individuals with disabilities and making your business accessible? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal law that prohibits disability discrimination.

• Genetic Information Discrimination

  What is “genetic information”? When can you legally obtain and share this information? What can you do to protect yourself from a genetic information discrimination charge? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal law that prohibits genetic information discrimination.

• Harassment

  What is illegal harassment? How can you prevent harassment? What should you do if an employee complains about harassment? Learn about the types of conduct that are prohibited by federal law and what you can do to prevent and correct harassment.

• National Origin Discrimination

  Can you refuse to hire an applicant because he has a foreign accent? Can you require employees to be fluent in English or to speak only English at work? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal law that prohibits national origin discrimination.

• Pay Discrimination

  What is illegal pay discrimination? When are pay differentials permitted? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal laws that prohibit pay discrimination.

• Pregnancy Discrimination

  Can you refuse to hire an applicant because she is pregnant? Are you required to provide light duty work, leave, or medical benefits to pregnant employees? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal laws that prohibit pregnancy and disability discrimination.

• Race/Color Discrimination

  Can you ask applicants to identify their race on application forms? What can you do to prevent race discrimination? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal law that prohibits race and color discrimination.

• Religious Discrimination

  What types of religious beliefs are protected by law? When are you required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal law that prohibits religious discrimination.

• Retaliation

  It is illegal to punish an employee for reporting discrimination, participating in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit, or opposing discrimination. Learn about your responsibilities under the federal laws that prohibit workplace retaliation.

• Sex Discrimination

  Who is protected from sex discrimination? What are your obligations to employees who have caregiving responsibilities or employees who have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking? Learn about your responsibilities under the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination.

• Other Employment Issues

  Information about employment issues handled by other federal agencies, such as affirmative action plans, minimum wage, overtime pay, and family and medical leave.

• Commenting About Federal Agency Actions

  Have a comment or question about EEOC enforcement or regulatory actions? Here’s who to contact.

We’re here to help! We can answer questions, train your staff and help you resolve charges of discrimination. Give us a call, we’re here to assist you, and many of our services are free!

We can answer questions.

EEOC staff are available to answer questions about the laws enforced by the EEOC, explain the EEOC charge process, and provide information about employment discrimination. For example, we can answer:

• Do the laws you enforce apply to my business?
• How can I prevent harassment?
• I just received a charge of discrimination. What should I do?

These discussions will not be shared with EEOC staff who investigate, resolve, and litigate charges of discrimination.

While we will make every effort to assist you, there are some questions that we can’t answer. We can’t provide legal advice or representation on a particular issue, and we can’t certify that your business is an equal employment opportunity employer. In addition, we may be limited in the amount of information that we can provide if a discrimination charge is pending on the matter you wish to discuss. For example, we can’t answer:

• One of my employees has been taking long breaks during the day and missing deadlines. Because of this, we almost lost one of our most important clients. Can I fire the employee?
• A former employee filed a charge against my business. His charge is baseless and we have documentation to prove it. Will the EEOC dismiss the charge?

We can provide training.

We can train you and your employees about rights and responsibilities under federal employment discrimination laws.

If you would like to request training on a particular topic, let us know; we can tailor our training to meet your needs.

We can help you resolve charges of discrimination.

Despite your best efforts, a charge of discrimination may be filed against your business. This does not mean that you have broken the law. A charge is a complaint of discrimination, not a determination that discrimination has occurred.

We may invite you to resolve the charge informally through mediation. Consider participating. Mediation is a great way to resolve disputes quickly and confidentially, at no cost.

See also:

Small Business Resources

A one-page fact sheet that provides a shortened, user-friendly overview of the legal obligations of small businesses under the federal employment anti-discrimination laws.  It also provides information about other EEOC resources available for small business owners.  The “Preventing Discrimination is Good Business” Fact sheet is available in 30 different languages.

• English
• Amharic
• Arabic
• Bengali
• Burmese
• Chinese
• French Canadian
• French
• German
• Greek
• Haitian Creole
• Hindi
• Hmong
• Japanese
• Karen
• Khmer
• Korean
• Lao
• Marshallese
• Nepali
• Polish
• Punjabi
• Russian
• Somali
• Spanish
• Tagalog
• Thai
• Ukrainian
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

  Running your small business is a full time job and when you need information – you need it fast!  For example, you may need to know what questions you shouldn’t ask in an interview.  Wouldn’t it be great if there was a quick and basic video (just a couple minutes long) that could give you this type of information?  Well there is!  EEOC’s Small Business Liaisons have created videos with the small business owner in mind and the simple straightforward information that you need most.

  Hiring

  1. What You Can Ask

  2. What You Shouldn’t Ask

  3. What You Can’t Ask

  4. Hiring Tips

  An EEOC Charge of Discrimination

  1. Responding to a Charge of Discrimination

EEOC Glossary for Small Businesses

Age Discrimination

Charge of Discrimination

Charge Process

Color Discrimination

Complaint Policy/Complaint Procedure

Disability

Disability Accommodation

Disability Discrimination

Discrimination

EEOC

EEO-1 Report

Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs)

Federal Employment Discrimination Laws

Field Office

Genetic Information

Genetic Information Discrimination

Harassment

Investigation

Liability

Mediation

National Origin Discrimination

Officer of the Day

Pay Discrimination

Position Statement

Pregnancy Discrimination

Race Discrimination

Reasonable Accommodation (Disability)

Reasonable Accommodation (Religion)

Religious Accommodation

Religious Discrimination

Retaliation

Sex Discrimination

Sexual Harassment

Small Business Liaisons

Small Business Task Force

Age Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee who is 40 years old or older less favorably because of his or her age or using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on applicants or employees who are 40 or older and is not based on a reasonable factor other than age.

Charge of Discrimination: A formal employment discrimination complaint filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or a Fair Employment Practices Agency (FEPA), a state or local agency responsible for enforcing state or local employment discrimination laws.

Charge Process: The process by which the EEOC handles charges of discrimination. The EEOC will notify you that a charge has been filed against your business and request an explanation for the claims in the charge (a Position Statement ) or responses to specific questions in a Request for Information. The EEOC may ask if you would like to mediate or settle the charge. If the charge is not resolved, the EEOC will continue its investigation. The EEOC will review the information obtained during the investigation to determine whether discrimination occurred. If the EEOC determines that discrimination did not occur, the EEOC will dismiss the charge and give the person who filed the charge permission to file a lawsuit. If the EEOC determines that discrimination did occur, it will invite you to conciliate the charge. If conciliation is unsuccessful, the EEOC may file a lawsuit or give the person who filed the charge permission to file a lawsuit.

Color Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because of his or her skin color, pigmentation, complexion, shade or tone. Color discrimination also includes using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular color and that is not related to the job and necessary to the operation of the business.

Complaint Policy/Complaint Procedure: A policy or procedure that informs employees how to file an internal discrimination complaint. Small businesses that have these types of policies or procedures should distribute them to employees, include them in employee handbooks and post them in the employee break room, online or in other places where employees can easily find them.

Disability: A physical or mental disorder, illness or condition (an impairment) that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record (past history) of a disability, or being regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that is not transitory (lasting or expected to last six months or less) and minor.

Disability Accommodation: A change to the way things are normally done at work to help an applicant or employee with a disability apply for a job, perform job duties or enjoy job benefits. For example, an employer may provide a sign language interpreter for a deaf applicant, permit an employee with diabetes to take regular breaks to eat and monitor blood sugar and insulin levels, or allow an employee with cancer to rearrange her schedule around radiation or chemotherapy treatments. You are not required to provide a disability accommodation if it would result in significant difficulty or expense, based on your resources and the operation of your business. In addition, you are not required to provide a disability accommodation that requires you to change the fundamental duties of a job, lower production or performance standards or tolerate misconduct.

Disability Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because the person or someone the person associates with has a disability, had a disability in the past or is believed to have a disability. Disability discrimination also includes failing to provide a disability accommodation to an applicant or employee, unless the accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense, changing fundamental job duties, lowering production or performance standards or tolerating misconduct. In addition, disability discrimination includes using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on an applicant or employee with a disability or a group of applicants or employees with disabilities and that does not reflect what is actually required to do the job.

Discrimination: Treating a person or a group of people less favorably. Federal law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age (40 years old or older), genetic information (including family medical history) or in retaliation for filing a charge or complaint of discrimination, participating in a discrimination proceeding (such as an investigation or lawsuit) or opposing discrimination.

EEOC: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC is the federal agency that enforces the federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age (40 years old or older) and genetic information(including family medical history). The laws enforced by the EEOC also prohibit retaliation. The EEOC is a bipartisan Commission led by five Commissioners who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The EEOC has a headquarters office in Washington, D.C. and 53 field offices throughout the United States.

EEO-1 Report: A government form that requests data about workforce ethnicity, race and gender. Employers with at least 100 employees and federal contractors with at least 50 employees and at least $50,000 in government contracts are required to complete and submit the EEO-1 form to the EEOC and the Department of Labor every year.

Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs): State and local agencies responsible for enforcing state and local employment discrimination laws.

Federal Employment Discrimination Laws: Laws that apply in every state that prohibit employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age (40 or older) and genetic information (including family medical history). These laws also prohibit retaliation. These laws include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.

Field Office: One of the EEOC’s 53 offices located across the country. Field offices accept, investigate, resolve and litigate charges of employment discrimination . Field offices also conduct outreach and training.

Genetic Information: Information about an applicant’s, employee’s or former employee’s genetic tests; a family member’s genetic tests; family medical history; requests for, or receipt of, genetic services; or genetic information about a fetus or an embryo.

Genetic Information Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because of genetic information (including family medical history). For example, an employer may not refuse to hire an applicant because cancer runs in her family.

Harassment: Unwelcome conduct that is so frequent or severe that it objectively creates a hostile or offensive work environment or results in a negative employment action (such as being fired or demoted). For example, assault, threats, insults or offensive graffiti may be illegal harassment. Federal law prohibits harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, disability, age (40 years old or older) or genetic information (including family medical history).

Investigation: The process by which an employer and/or the EEOC determine whether illegal discrimination has occurred. The employer and/or the EEOC may interview the applicant, employee or former employee who complained about discrimination; the person or people allegedly responsible for the discrimination; and other employees who may have seen or have information about the alleged discrimination. The employer and/or the EEOC may also request and review relevant documents, such as policies, applications, interview notes or employee files.

Liability: Legal responsibility for illegal activity, such as discrimination.

Mediation: A free, informal, confidential process to resolve disputes .

National Origin Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because the person or someone the person associates with comes from a particular country, has a foreign accent, appears to have a particular ethnic background. National origin discrimination also includes using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular national origin and that is not related to the job and necessary to the operation of the business.

Officer of the Day: EEOC staff available to provide information about the laws enforced by the EEOC. Conversations with Officers of the Day will not be shared with EEOC staff who investigate, resolve, and litigate charges of discrimination.

Pay Discrimination: Paying an employee or a group of employees less based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information (including family medical history). Pay discrimination also includes paying an employee or group of employees less because they filed a discrimination charge or complaint or participated in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit.

Position Statement: An employer’s response to a charge of discrimination, providing specific, factual explanations for the claims in the charge.

Pregnancy Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because of pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, childbirth or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. Pregnancy discrimination also includes using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on women affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions and that is not related to the job and necessary to the operation of the business.

Race Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because the person or someone the person associates with is a particular raceor has personal characteristics associated with a particular race. Race discrimination also includes using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on applicants or employees of a particular race and that is not related to the job and necessary to the operation of the business.

Reasonable Accommodation (Disability): See Disability Accommodation

Reasonable Accommodation (Religion): See Religious Accommodation

Religious Accommodation: A change to the way things are normally done at work to allow an applicant or employee to practice or observe his or her religion. For example, a small business may permit an employee to swap shifts with a colleague so he can observe a religious holiday or grant an exception to a dress or grooming policy that conflicts with an employee’s religious beliefs or practices. You are not required to provide religious accommodations that impose more than minimal costs or disruptions for your business. In addition, you are not required to provide a religious accommodation if it would conflict with another law or regulation.

Religious Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because of his or her religious beliefs or association with a person of a particular religion. Religious discrimination also includes failing to provide a religious accommodation, unless the accommodation would impose more than minimal costs or disruptions for your business. In addition, religious discrimination includes using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on members of a particular religion and that is not job related and necessary to the operation of the business.

Retaliation: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because he or she made an internal discrimination complaint, filed a discrimination charge with the EEOC or another agency, participated in a discrimination investigation or lawsuit (for example, served as a witness), or opposed discrimination (for example, threatened to file a charge of discrimination). All of the laws enforced by the EEOC prohibit retaliation.

Sex Discrimination: Treating an applicant, employee or former employee less favorably because of his or her sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity) or because of his or her connection with an organization or group that is associated with people of a particular sex. Sex discrimination also includes using an employment policy or practice that has a negative effect on men or women and that is not related to the job and necessary to the operation of the business.

Sexual Harassment: Unwelcome conduct or comments based on sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity) that are so frequent or severe that they objectively create a hostile or offensive work environment or result in a negative employment action (such as being fired or demoted). Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, unwelcome requests for sexual favors, offensive comments about men or women (including comments that are not sexual in nature) or other offensive conduct based on sex.

Small Business Liaisons: EEOC staff who are responsible for helping small businesses understand and comply with federal employment discrimination laws. The Small Business Liaisons, who are located in EEOC field offices across the country, provide information about employment discrimination, answer questions and conduct outreach and training for small businesses. Conversations with Small Business Liaisons will not be shared with EEOC staff who investigate, resolve, and litigate charges of discrimination.

Small Business Task Force: An EEOC work group, led by Commissioner Constance S. Barker, created to help small businesses understand and comply with federal employment discrimination laws.

Equal Employment Office Policy – Broker Course

Fair Housing Act – Real Estate Training Institute