Recording-2025-07-02T19:56:50.503Z

Origin and Basic Identity of “Title VII”

• “Title VII” is a nickname for one part (the 7ᵗʰ title) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  • The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is a landmark U.S. civil-rights and labor statute that outlawed many forms of discrimination.
• Other titles within the same Act you may encounter:
  • Title II — public accommodations (e.g., movie theaters, hotels, restaurants).
  • Title VI — bars discrimination by recipients of federal funds.
• Historical context (brief):
  • Passage involved intense political maneuvering, the aftermath of President John\ F.\ Kennedy’s assassination, and the legislative mastery of President Lyndon\ B.\ Johnson (former Senate majority leader).

Dual Naming: Popular Name vs. Codification

• Lawyers casually say “Title VII,” but the official citation is 42\ USC\ \§\ 2000e\text{–}2.
  • “42” = Title number in the U.S. Code.
  • “USC” = United States Code.
  • “§ 2000e\text{–}2” = the specific section within that title.
• Most modern research is electronic, yet in print the U.S. Code is a multi-volume set arranged by titles (broad subjects).

Anatomy of the U.S. Code

• Titles = large subject-matter divisions.
  • Examples: Title 17 (Copyright), Title 26 (Internal Revenue Code).
• Each title may span several bound volumes.
• Titles are subdivided into chapters:
  • In Title 42 (“Public Welfare”) you can find:
  • Chapter 3 — Leprosy.
  • Chapter 21B — Religious Freedom Restoration.
  • Title VII’s substantive text is in Chapter 21: “Civil Rights.”

Quick‐Inference Skill

• Seeing only a citation like 42\ USC\ \§\ 2000e\text{–}2 lets you infer:
  1. Subject area (public welfare/civil rights).
  2. Physical shelf location in a law library.
• Conversely, to discover every statute on a topic, flip through the title and chapter tables of contents first.

Odd Section Numbers, Letters & Dashes

• Congress cannot foresee future insertions; renumbering every provision would break thousands of cross-references.
• Solution: add dashes, letters, or entirely new chapter letters (e.g., Chapter 21B, §§ 2000e\text{–}2).
• Result: the Code is continuously patched yet backward compatible.

Why You Must Update & Verify Statutes

• The Code is revised frequently.
• Always confirm that the provision you rely on has not been amended or repealed.

Three Places a Federal Statute “Lives”

1. Public Law Slip Copy
   • Every enacted bill receives a Public Law number \text{PL}\ \text{X}\text{–}\text{Y}.
     • X = sequential Congress number.
     • Y = order of passage in that Congress.
   • Example at the bottom of your reading: **$$PL\ 102\text