2021 Georgia Code
Title 45 - Public Officers and Employees
Chapter 19 - Labor Practices
Article 2 - Fair Employment Practices
- § 45-19-20. Short Title
- § 45-19-21. Purposes and Construction of Article
- § 45-19-22. Definitions
- § 45-19-23. Creation of Board of Commissioners of the Commission on Equal Opportunity; Members; Terms; Officers; Meetings; Compensation of Members; Powers and Duties of Board; Annual Report to Governor and General Assembly; Special Masters' List
- § 45-19-24. Commission on Equal Opportunity Created; Administrator; Assignment of Commission to Governor for Administrative Purposes
- § 45-19-25. Function of Administrator
- § 45-19-26. Role of Attorney General
- § 45-19-27. Additional Powers and Duties of Administrator
- § 45-19-28. Limitation on Provisions of Article Relating to Age Discrimination
- § 45-19-29. Unlawful Practices Generally
- § 45-19-30. Unlawful Practices in Training or Apprenticeship Programs
- § 45-19-31. Unlawful Practices in Advertisement of Employment
- § 45-19-32. Unlawful Practice for Party to Violate Conciliation Agreement
- § 45-19-33. Different Standards of Compensation or Different Terms and Conditions of Employment When Not Based on Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Disability, or Age
- § 45-19-34. Hiring, Employing, or Selecting for Training Programs When Religion or National Origin a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification
- § 45-19-35. Use of Quotas Because of Imbalances in Employee Ratios Prohibited; Grants of Preferential Treatment to Certain Individuals or Groups Not Required by Article; Adoption of Plans Required by Governor to Reduce Imbalance; Effect of Article Upon Certain Employment Practices
- § 45-19-36. Filing Complaints of Unlawful Practice; Action by Administrator
- § 45-19-37. Appointment of Special Master to Conduct Hearing on Complaint; Procedure
- § 45-19-38. Findings, Conclusions, and Order of Special Master Generally; Order to Cease and Desist From Unlawful Practice and to Take Remedial Action
- § 45-19-39. Appeal to Superior Court of Final Order of Special Master or Complaint Dismissed by Administrator
- § 45-19-40. Entry of Court Judgment Based Upon Final Order of Administrator or Special Master; Notification of Parties; Effect of Judgment
- § 45-19-41. Administrator to Have Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Claims Under Article; Final Determination of Claim Bars Further State Actions
- § 45-19-42. Procurement of Violation of Article by Person Not Subject Thereto Not a Defense
- § 45-19-43. Access of Administrator or Designee to Premises, Records, and Documents; Persons Required to Make and Keep Employment Records; Application for Relief From Order Due to Hardship; Unlawful to Make Information Public
- § 45-19-44. Unlawful Practices Punishable by Civil Fine
- § 45-19-45. Unlawful Conspiracies
- § 45-19-46. Overtime Compensation
- Ga. L. 1983, p. 1097, effective July 1, 1983, deleted the Code sections formerly codified at this article and enacted the present article. The 1983 Act had the effect of amending or reenacting without change the Code sections comprising this article. The 1983 Act also had the effect of repealing former § 45-19-46, which was enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 1253, § 2, and which became effective November 1, 1982 (but see § 1 of the 1982 Act for similar provisions given effect prior to the November 1, 1982, effective date of the Code). Former § 45-19-46 provided for the repeal of this article on July 1, 1985.
Administrative Rules and Regulations.- Commission on Equal Opportunity, Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Title 186. Employee suggestion program, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Rules of State Personnel Board, Rule 478-1-.22.
Law reviews.- For article surveying recent developments in Georgia administrative law, see 34 Mercer L. Rev. 393 (1982). For article, "Wheel of Fortune: A Critique of the 'Manifest Imbalance' Requirement for Race-Conscious Affirmative Action under Title VII," see 43 Ga. L. Rev. 993 (2009). For annual survey on employment discrimination, see 69 Mercer L. Rev. 1117 (2018). For article, "Age, Time, and Discrimination,” see 53 Ga. L. Rev. 845 (2019). For note, "Workin' 9:00-5:00 for Nine Months: Assessing Pregnancy Discrimination Laws in Georgia," see 33 Ga. St. U. L. Rev. 771 (2017). For note, "Employer Beware: Changing the Landscape of Employment Discrimination Claims at the Summary Judgment Stage," see 68 Mercer L. Rev. 1145 (2017). For note, "Two Wrongs Don't Make It Right: Title VII, Sexual Orientation, and the Misuse of Stare Decisis," see 52 Ga. L. Rev. 685 (2018). For note, "Breaking the Binary: Desegregation of Bathrooms," see 36 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 381 (2020). For note, "It's Their Party and They Can Opt in If They Want to: How the Eleventh Circuit Classifies Party Plaintiffs in an FLSA Collective Action," see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 783 (2019).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Superior courts have subject matter jurisdiction over timely Title VII claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 filed pursuant to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission notification to the claimant that, the federal prerequisites for suit having been fulfilled, suit may be filed. Collins v. DOT, 208 Ga. App. 53, 429 S.E.2d 707 (1993).
Original state court jurisdiction.
- The General Assembly's adoption of the Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA), O.C.G.A. Art. 2, Ch. 19, T. 45, providing a state remedy, enforceable in state courts following state administrative proceedings, does not and cannot preclude pursuit of a ripe and independent federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 action in state courts. The superior courts' appellate jurisdiction over state FEPA claims does not affect their original jurisdiction over Title VII claims. Collins v. DOT, 208 Ga. App. 53, 429 S.E.2d 707 (1993).
Cited in Bleakley v. Jekyll Island-State Park Auth., 536 F. Supp. 236 (S.D. Ga. 1982); Washington v. Department of Human Resources, 759 F. Supp. 825 (M.D. Ga. 1991).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERALTo be subject of charge under these statutory provisions, particular state agency must be charging party's employer. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-72.
Under these statutory provisions, a charge of discrimination may be brought only against charging party's employer. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-72.
Jurisdiction over charges of unlawful employment discrimination in university system.- Georgia Office of Fair Employment Practices and Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia have concurrent jurisdiction over charge of unlawful employment discrimination in the university system. If either renders a final administrative determination, the other agency is barred from reconsidering those issues considered in earlier administrative proceeding provided same parties are involved in both proceedings. 1980 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 80-74. (But see 1983 Op. Att'y Gen. 83-35).
RESEARCH REFERENCESDiscrimination Under Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 10 POF2d 1.
Age as Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Under ADEA, 15 POF2d 481.
Proof of Discrimination Under Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 44 POF3d 79.
Contingent Worker's Protection Under Federal Anti-Discrimination Statutes, 57 POF3d 75.
Employment Discrimination Action under Federal Civil Rights Acts, 21 Am. Jur. Trials 1.
Disability Discrimination Based on Dyslexia in Employment Actions Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 74 Am. Jur. Trials 255.
ALR.- What constitutes unfair labor practice under state public employee relations Acts, 9 A.L.R.4th 20.
Rights of state and municipal public employees in grievance proceedings, 46 A.L.R.4th 912.
Judicial construction and application of state legislation prohibiting religious discrimination in employment, 37 A.L.R.5th 349.
Employee's retention of benefits received in consideration of promise not to enforce claims under Age Discrimination in Employment Act as ratification of otherwise invalid or voidable waiver under § 7(f)(1) of act (29 USCS § 626(f)(1)), 128 A.L.R. Fed. 577.
