Bill Townsend calls upon Congress to revise Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect all workers

LAS VEGAS - April 30, 2018 - PRLog -- Bill Townsend, a candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Nevada's Congressional District 4, calls upon Member of Congress to revise the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include protections against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation for all workers.

When members of Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, they made the decision to only apply Title VII to workplaces with 15 or more employees.  This has left millions of Americans, especially women, subject to hostile work environments.

"We cannot fully address safety in the workplace without addressing the Civil Rights Act of 1964," said Townsend. "Closing the loophole of applying protections only to workplaces with 15 or more employees is necessary to protect all workers, especially women."

Work has changed since 1964 and the law needs to keep up with those changes. The laws that we rely on to protect workers in the workplace still assume that America's economy is one where most workers are employees in a factory or at a desk, as opposed to small businesses and working as independent contractors.

"From Hollywood and tech companies to financial firms and our own government, revelations about rampant sexual harassment and retaliation have become an important national subject. If Congress continues to allow those companies with fewer than 15 employees the ability to harass, discriminate, and retaliate, they are sending a clear message to anyone who abuses their power that they will not be held accountable," stated Townsend. "Failure to act also sends a clear signal to women, the gender most likely to be harassed, that their workplace safety is not important. If Congress fails to act on this issue, and Nevada's voters elect me to represent them as their new voice in Congress, I will introduce legislation to eliminate the Title VII exclusion to bring protection to all American workers."

Townsend's website can be found at http://www.TownsendForNevada.com.