National Collegiate Athletic Association

The NCAA News - News and Features

November 17, 1997

EEOC issues gender guidelines on employment practices

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued updated guidelines to help higher education institutions and athletics staff members comply with laws governing discrimination in employment on the basis of gender.

The guidelines -- Enforcement Guidance on Sex Discrimination in the Compensation of Sports Coaches in Educational Institutions -- were issued to help institutions avoid discrimination in their employment practices, said Ellen J. Vargyas, EEOC legal counsel.

"What we are trying to do with these guidelines is let affected parties know what the law is so they can adjust their behavior accordingly," Vargyas said. "We feel education is the best way to get at discrimination.

"We hope university counsels and athletics departments will carefully review this. We also hope coaches will familiarize themselves with this."

The guidance, formally adopted by the commission, clarifies how the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to sex-based differences in compensation of sports coaches.

Noting that studies show that the overall pattern of the employment and compensation of coaches at educational institutions still is far from gender-neutral, the EEOC issued the 30-page document to educate institutions on how to comply with the law.

"The commission has issued this guidance to assist both educational institutions and coaches in better understanding their rights and responsibilities under the laws," Vargyas said.

Using hypothetical campus coaching employment scenarios, the guidelines explain the EEOC's interpretation of the antidiscrimination laws.

Vargyas said the guidelines were aimed at three groups:

  • EEOC staff, who use the guidelines when they investigate complaints.

  • Affected parties, to educate them on their rights and the laws. A school can consider the guidelines a road map of what the EEOC will be looking for if a complaint is filed against it.

  • Courts. While the courts are not bound by the guidelines, they look to them when hearing charges of discrimination, Vargyas said.

    The new guidelines become part of the EEOC compliance manual and will be available this month on the EEOC's World Wide Web site (www.eeoc.gov).

    The EEOC has the responsibility for enforcing both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, and the Equal Pay Act, which prohibits sex discrimination in wages and salaries. Before an employee can sue an employer under Title VII, the person must have filed a complaint with the EEOC.

    EEOC staff receive and investigate employment-discrimination charges against private employers and state and local governments. If an investigation shows reasonable cause to believe that discrimination occurred, the commission attempts reconciliation. If that fails, the charge will be considered for litigation.

    After its investigation of the complaint, regardless of whether the EEOC finds for the employee or the employer, it will issue a letter allowing a party to sue.

    Vargyas said the EEOC received 80,000 charges on five antidiscrimination laws during the last fiscal year through its 50 offices around the country. In addition to the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the EEOC enforces the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    The new coaches' pay guidelines are designed to assist institutions and coaches in determining whether discrimination occurs through several scenarios. Issues addressed include the following:

  • Under Equal Pay Act analysis, the first step is to identify male and female comparators so that their jobs may be analyzed to determine whether they are substantially equal. How to select comparators is explained.

  • Are the jobs substantially equal? Factors to consider in determining whether two jobs are substantially equal include skill level, effort required, responsibility and working conditions.

  • If the person filing the charge of discrimination makes a case demonstrating that the jobs are substantially equal and he or she is paid less wages than the other comparable position, the employer has four exceptions that it can use as a defense. The guidelines list those and in what situations those exceptions would prevail.

    The EEOC notes that support given to coaches may differ as long as the treatment of the men's and women's programs overall is nondiscriminatory -- the school does not discriminate in the terms and conditions of employment of men's and women's coaches overall.

    The guidelines also give instructions for processing a discrimination charge.

    The report concludes by noting, "The commission is aware of widespread disparities in the compensation of sports coaches in educational institutions and will analyze cases carefully in accordance with the principles set forth in this guidance."

    The EEOC guidance does not have the force of law but is a template of how the EEOC will evaluate a claim that is made to it of a violation of one of the statutes.