United Steelworkers of America v. Weber

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is the most comprehensive civil rights legislation in U.S. history. Proposed by President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the spirit of the act was to breakdown old patterns of racial segregation and social hierarchy.

Title VII of the act, an extensive source of employment rights, forbids discrimination based on an employee's color, race, national origin, religion, or sex. After 1972, the act applied to all employers or labor unions with 15 or more employees or members, to state and local governments, and to educational institutions. The act created the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate and prosecute discrimination violations. Its provisions did not apply to federal employees or American Indian tribes.

Additional wide ranging provisions prohibited discrimination in the use of public accommodations or facilities such as hotels, parks, restaurants, theaters, and gas stations. The act also protected an individual's voting rights and directed the Department of Education to oversee school desegregation programs. Title VI authorized the government to cut-off federal funds to any public or private program that did not end discriminatory practices. The act empowered each state attorney general to bring suit against any owner of a public accommodation who discriminated, and against any school system violating desegregation programs.