Struggling For Justice And Equality

"Liberty" and "equality" are two basic creeds in America."Liberty" has been a dominant position in the mind of American; But as the development of politic, economy and other aspects of society in the twentieth century,"equality" has become the main demand of people, especially ones who live in the bottom. Through long time struggle, citizens’ political rights has been protected basically; However, in terms of economic rights, inequality is still very common, especially discrimination in the field of work. Equal opportunities in employment are the main objectives of the African American1struggles after World War Ⅱ. At last, the federal government introduced the Civil Rights Act of1964under the pressure of the civil rights movement. Title VII clearly establish the equal employment opportunity rights of citizens, and set up a special law enforcement agency-the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC). The central task of the EEOC is to halt and remedy illegal employment discrimination, and maintain equality and justice in the work field.Since formally established in1965, EEOC’s system has been improved and power has been expanded.The functions of the management and implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act,the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Equal Pay Act have been attributable to the Commission. EEOC has gradually developed into the leading institution and main actuator of the various programs through which the federal government maintain the equal employment opportunity rights of citizens. Legal rights in employment of black, women and other vulnerable groups have been greatly expanded through the decades of efforts, gaps between vulnerable groups and mainstream groups have gradually been narrowed, and equality and justice in the American political tradition have been implemented to some extent..The thesis, besides preface and conclusion, is made up of four chapters. The preface discusses the significance of the subject and establishes academic and practical significance of study on EEOC from the history perspective. The first chapter discusses the background of the establishment of EEOC, which is one of the results of black fight for economic rights and the positive response from federal government. Large-scale civil rights movement eventually led to introduction of the Civil Rights Act and establishment of the commission. Through statement of the history of the twenty years development of EEOC, the second chapter concludes that the idea, the enforcement mechanisms and effects of EEOC are not static, but constantly evolving, and have distinct stage characteristics; Chapter Ⅲ is on analysis of political attributes of the Commission as one of the independent regulatory agencies from the perspective of political science, and the influence of the president, congress and the supreme court to EEOC. From three aspects, including the law, problem solving mechanism and vulnerable groups’economic conditions, the last chapter analyzes the important impact of EEOC to the economic interests of the vulnerable groups. Learning from the American experiences and lessons, the conclusion suggests that government should improve employment environment in our country through establishing special and independent executive mechanism and increasing material and the policy support to the disadvantaged groups.