Frequently Asked Questions
Question: If an employing office is paying employees of one race more than comparable employees of another race, is the employing office violating the CAA?
Answer: Yes, if the reason for the differential in pay is race. It is not prohibited discrimination for an employing office to apply different standards of compensation, or different terms, conditions, or privileges of employment pursuant to a bona fide seniority or merit system, or a system that measures earnings by quantity or quality of production, or to employees who work in different locations, so long as such differences are not the result of an intent to discriminate on the basis of race. The same standard applies to situations involving employees of different color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Question: May an employing office remove an employee from a position because of the employee's foreign accent?
Answer: In general, the answer is no. An employing office may not take a negative employment action against an employee because of that individual's accent, unless the employee's accent is too difficult to understand and the employee is in a job position which requires that he or she be clearly understood, such as in a receptionist position.
Question: Must an employing office allow an employee time-off for the employee's religious observances?
Answer: An employing office must allow employees time-off for their religious observances to the extent that such accommodations do not impose an undue hardship on the employing office.
Question: If, for pregnancy related reasons, an employee is unable to perform the functions of her job, does the employing office have to provide her an alternative job?
Answer: An employing office must treat an employee temporarily unable to perform the functions of her job because of her pregnancy-related condition in the same manner as it treats other temporarily disabled employees. For example, if an employing office accommodates such temporary disabilities by providing alternative assignments or modifying job requirements, it must do so for pregnancy related conditions as well.
Question: May an employing office have a rule that prohibits an employee from returning to work for a predetermined length of time after childbirth?
Answer: No.
