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EQUAL - 9 reference results
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equal-time rule
equal-time rule, a Federal Communications Commission rule that requires equal air time for all major candidates competing for political office. It was preceded by the fairness doctrine, abolished in 1987, which required radio and television broadcasters to air contrasting views on controversial public issues.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
equal temperament
equal temperament: see tuning systems.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Equal Rights Amendment
Equal Rights Amendment: see civil rights; feminism.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Equal Pay Act
Equal Pay Act, U.S. law passed (1963) as an amendment to the Wages and Hours Act (see Fair Labor Standards Act) which prohibits discrimination based on sex that results in unequal pay for equal work.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), U.S. agency created in 1964 to end discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in employment and to promote programs to make equal employment opportunity a reality. It has since become responsible for ending discrimination based on age or disability. The commission receives charges of discrimination, investigates, and if they appear true, attempts to remedy them through conciliation. If conciliation is not secured, the commission may bring suit in federal court. During the Reagan and Bush administrations (1981-93) it was criticized for shifting from blanket to individual complaints, for permitting no retroactive application of the Civil Rights Law of 1991, and for letting thousands of age discrimination cases lapse. In 1996 it began the mediation-based alternative dispute resolution program to help it resolve charges faster. The commision handles 75,000 to 80,000 charges annually.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press
equal-field system

Chinese land-distribution system, AD 485–8th century. Borrowed by Japan in 646, it lasted about a century there. Under the system, all adults were assigned a fixed amount of land; a portion of its produce was paid as taxes. On a person's death, most of the land was returned to the government. Increases in population and a tendency for the land to come to be held permanently led to the system's collapse in China; tax-free status and additional allotments for nobles and monasteries resulted in its demise in Japan.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
equal protection

In U.S. law, the constitutional guarantee that no person or group will be denied such protection under the law as is enjoyed by similar persons or groups—i.e., persons similarly situated must be treated similarly. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits states from denying any person “the equal protection of the laws.” Until the mid-20th century the requirement was applied minimally—except in some cases of racial discrimination, such as the use of literacy tests and grandfather clauses to restrict the voting rights of blacks. In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court of the United States upheld “separate but equal” facilities for the races, thus sanctioning racial segregation. Beginning in the 1960s, the court under Chief Justice Earl Warren dramatically expanded the concept, applying it to cases involving welfare benefits, exclusionary zoning, municipal services, and school financing. During the tenure of Chief Justices Warren E. Burger and William H. Rehnquist, the court continued to add to the types of cases that might be adjudicated under equal protection, including cases involving sexual discrimination, the status and rights of aliens, abortion rights, and access to the courts.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

Proposed but unratified amendment to the U.S. Constitution designed mainly to invalidate many state and federal laws that discriminated against women. Its central tenet was that sex should not be a determining factor in establishing the legal rights of individuals. It was first introduced in Congress in 1923, shortly after women obtained the right to vote. It was finally approved by the U.S. Senate 49 years later (1972) but was subsequently ratified by only 30 of the 50 state legislatures. Critics claimed it would cause women to lose privileges and protections, such as exemption from compulsory military service and economic support by their husbands. Supporters, led by the National Organization for Women, argued that discriminatory state and federal laws left many women in a state of economic dependency.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Equal Pay Act of 1963
Jan 01, 2004; Equal Pay Act of 1963 Lawrence Schlam T he Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) (P.L. No. 88-38, 77 Stat. 56, 59) prohibits employers from...
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Equal Protection of the Law
Jan 01, 2003; EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW EQUAL PROTECTION OF THE LAW refers to the constitutional concept that the government should treat...
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Equal Pay a Human Right
Jun 01, 2006; EQUAL PAY HAS LARGELY ELUDED women in Canada, but not because there are no laws requiring men and women to be paid the same....
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equal
Jan 01, 2004; equal. 1. As a verb, equal has inflected forms equalled , equalling in BrE and equaled , equaling in AmE. 2. As an adjective,...
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STRUCTURAL FUNDS: COMMISSION TO LAUNCH NEW COMMUNITY INITIATIVE "EQUAL" ON EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES.
Oct 13, 1999; EQUAL will provide Community subsidies for activities proposed by individual Member States, and which the Commission approves as...
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