Non-discrimination

Numerous federal, state and local statutes and regulations prohibit discrimination in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, or disability. Federal laws prohibiting discrimination include Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (42 U.S.C. section 2000e), the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. section 1981 et seq.), the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. section 12101 et seq.), the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (29 U.S.C. section 206) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1975 (42 U.S.C. section 6101 et seq.). If a producer receives federal funding, additional non-discrimination laws may apply. These may include Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. section 2000d), Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (20 U.S.C. section 1681), and Title V of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. sections 793 and 794). Some of these laws have been amended by Congress, and others have been recently interpreted in Supreme Court decisions. Contracts for program production issued by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by National Public Radio typically require nondiscrimination in employment and affirmative action by the contracting individual or entity. In addition, the FCC imposes non-discrimination recruitment and outreach requirements on licensees.

On December 21, 2001, the FCC proposed new broadcast and cable equal employment opportunity ("EEO") rules to replace the rules that had been invalidated by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The FCC's prior rules presented stations with two options for assuring equal employment opportunity. The Court found one of the two options to be unconstitutional and remanded the matter to the FCC for further consideration. In response, the FCC proposed adoption of the remaining, constitutional option. That option consists of a prohibition on discrimination and requirements that stations (1) recruit for full-time positions, (2) notify recruitment organizations of job vacancies when so requested by such organizations, and (3) engage in systematic outreach initiatives. The FCC has also proposed a number of recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including requiring broadcasters and cable entities to place an annual EEO report in their public file detailing recruitment outreach efforts.