Title VII

Definition

The section of the US Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It is the foundation of most US workplace discrimination law, and the reason HR policies exist in the first place.

Example Usage

The complaint alleges a Title VII violation, so legal has asked everyone to stop forwarding memes in the group chat.

Origin

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, named after its section in the act.

Source: US federal law: Civil Rights Act of 1964

Related Terms

Intermediate

allotments

The corporate art of dividing resources, budgets, or stock options into carefully measured portions, usually just small enough to feel disappointing. In HR contexts, it's how companies mathematically prove they're being fair while somehow leaving everyone equally underwhelmed. Think of it as the organizational equivalent of cutting a birthday cake into suspiciously uneven slices.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)

A goal-setting framework where employees set ambitious targets they'll miss by 30% and pretend it's motivational.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

terminate

The corporate euphemism for firing someone, borrowed from the Terminator franchise to make HR sound more badass than they actually are. Can mean to end anything incompletely, but let's be honest—in business contexts, it's the word your manager uses right before security escorts you out. Also works for killing things, which really doesn't help its workplace PR.

👥 Human Resources

Advanced

Bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ)

A narrow legal exception under Title VII that allows an employer to consider a protected characteristic when it is genuinely necessary to the job. Courts read it very narrowly, so 'we've always done it this way' does not qualify.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

retiree

Someone who has successfully escaped the corporate hamster wheel and now spends their days pretending to be busy with hobbies while secretly napping. The ultimate goal of every employee who's sat through one too many pointless meetings. They're living proof that there is, in fact, life after email.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

KRA

Key Result Area—a broad category of responsibility defining what an employee should accomplish. Like OKRs' less structured cousin who still shows up to family dinners.

👥 Human Resources

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