Arizona Senate Research Staff, 1700 W. Washington Street, Phoenix, AZ 85007
In right-to-work states, unions may not ask
employers to, and employers cannot agree to, enter
into union-security agreements. Employees cannot
be required to either join the union or pay the
equivalent dues in order to remain employed.
Employees who want to join can do so with all
the privileges of membership, such as
participation in contract negotiations, ratification
of the contract, voting on a decision to strike and
voting for leadership. Nonmembers are generally
denied those privileges, but are accorded any
contractual benefits. In addition, the union has a
duty to represent all employees fairly without
regard to their membership status.
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DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act
(CRA) protects individuals from discrimination
on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex
and religion in regard to any term, condition or
privilege of employment. It prohibits not only
intentional discrimination, but also job policies
that disproportionately affect certain groups of
persons that are not related to the job and the
needs of the business. The CRA applies to
employers with 15 or more employees and is
enforced on the federal level by the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
3
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Title I of the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits private and
public employers from discriminating against
qualified individuals with disabilities in regard to
any term, condition or privilege of employment.
Like the CRA, it covers employers with 15 or more
employees and is enforced by the EEOC. An
employee is considered to have a disability if they:
1) have a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limits one or more major life
activities; 2) have a record of such impairment;
Labor Employment Laws 2
or 3) are regarded as having such an impairment.
“Major life activities” include caring for oneself,
walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning and
the operation of a major bodily function. A
qualified employee or applicant with a disability
is an individual who, despite having a disability,
can perform the essential functions of the
particular job, either with or without a reasonable
accommodation. Reasonable accommodation
may include: 1) making existing facilities readily
accessible to and usable by persons with
disabilities; 2) job restructuring; 3) modifying
work schedules; 4) acquiring or modifying
equipment; 5) adjusting examinations, training
materials or policies; and 6) providing qualified
readers or interpreters. An employer must make
an accommodation if it would not impose undue
hardship on the employer’s business.
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Arizona’s Civil Rights Laws
Arizona’s civil rights statutes codify the CRA
and ADA, allowing the AG to enforce both laws.
Statute prohibits an employer from failing or
refusing to hire, discharging or from otherwise
discriminating against an individual with respect
to the individual’s compensation or terms,
condition or privileges of employment because of
the individual’s race, color, religion, sex, age,
disability or national origin. It also prohibits an
employer from limiting, segregating or
classifying employees or prospective employees
in any way that deprives any individual from
employment opportunities or otherwise adversely
affects the individual’s status as an employee
because of the individual’s race, color, religion,
sex, age, disability or national origin.
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AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT
Historically, employment for an indefinite
period of time has been considered at-will
employment that can be terminated by either the
employer or the employee at any time with or
without cause or notice. Arizona’s Employment
2
29 U.S.C. §§ 151-169
3
42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2000e-17
4
42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213; 29 C.F.R. § 1630.2
5
A.R.S. Title 41, Ch. 9