Civil Rights Act of 1991 - Predecessors of The Act

Predecessors of The Act

The 1991 Act combined elements from two different civil right acts of the past: the Civil Rights Act of 1866, better known by the number assigned to it in the codification of federal laws as "Section 1981", and the employment-related provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, generally referred to as "Title VII", its location within the Act. The two statutes, passed nearly a century apart, approached the issue of employment discrimination very differently: Section 1981 prohibited only discrimination based on race or color, while Title VII also prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex, religion, and national origin. Section 1981, which had lain dormant and unenforced for a century after its passage, allowed plaintiffs to seek compensatory damages and trial by jury; Title VII, passed in the 1960s when it was assumed that Southern juries could not render a fair verdict, allowed only trial by the court and provided for only traditional equitable remedies: backpay, reinstatement and injunctions against future acts of discrimination. By the time the 1991 Act was passed both allowed for an award of attorneys fees. Civil Rights Act 1991, expanded the remedies available to victims of discrimination by amending Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964.