what is equal treatment under the law

Equal treatment refers to the legal protection all employees have to the same rights as any other employee. Most commonly, this legal doctrine is used in discharge cases to ensure that an employer is treating all employees fairly.

Full Answer

Which amendment guarantees equal treatment under the law?

The Fourteenth Amendment prohibits a State from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and from denying to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws, but it adds nothing to the rights of one citizen as against another.

Is everyone treated equally under the law?

Yes, absolutely. The 14th Amendment (1868 ) very specifically addresses this very point. In theory, we are all to be treated equally under the law and benefit from the equal protection of the laws.

What does "equal protection under the law" mean?

"equal protection under the law" means that everyone has the right to be equal under the law (constitution). That also means that no matter what race or ethnicity, everyone will get treated equally. So for example, if someone commit a crime, they would be punished under the law, no matter what race that person is. 4.5.

What do the words equal justice under law mean?

“Equal Justice Under Law.” Those are the words inscribed on the front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. The words are derived from the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states that no state shall “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

What does equal treatment under the law mean?

Thus, everyone must be treated equally under the law regardless of race, gender, color, ethnicity, religion, disability, or other characteristics, without privilege, discrimination or bias.

Is equal treatment under the law in the Constitution?

U.S. Constitution The Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause requires states to practice equal protection. Equal protection forces a state to govern impartially—not draw distinctions between individuals solely on differences that are irrelevant to a legitimate governmental objective.

What is the right to equal treatment before the law?

Section 15 of the Human Rights Act 2019 says that: Every person has the right to recognition as a person before the law. Every person has the right to enjoy the person's human rights without discrimination. Every person is equal before the law and is entitled to the equal protection of the law without discrimination.

What does the law say about equal rights?

“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”

What is an example of equal protection?

For example, a state may not prohibit inter-racial marriages, or deny child custody to a couple because they are of different races. Also, as mentioned above, any laws requiring segregation of the races will be held unconstitutional.

Are we all equal under the law?

All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

What are some examples of equality rights?

(1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

What are the four principles of equality?

The content of the right to equality includes the following aspects: (i) the right to recognition of the equal worth and equal dignity of each human being; (ii) the right to equality before the law; (iii) the right to equal protection and benefit of the law; (iv) the right to be treated with the same respect and ...

What does equality under the law look like?

Also known as equality before the law, or isonomy, the basic principle recognizes that all individuals should be treated in exactly the same manner by the law, while all persons should be subject to the same laws.

Where is the Equal Protection Clause?

The Equal Protection Clause is part of the first section of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The clause, which took effect in 1868, provides "nor shall any State ...

What does Equal Protection Clause say?

No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

What does the Equal Pay Act say?

The Equal Pay Act requires that men and women in the same workplace be given equal pay for equal work. The jobs need not be identical, but they must be substantially equal. Job content (not job titles) determines whether jobs are substantially equal.

What does the U.S. Constitution say about discrimination?

No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

What does the Constitution say about women's rights?

Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest.

What rights are protected by the Constitution?

It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. The Second Amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms. The Third Amendment prohibits the government from quartering troops in private homes, a major grievance during the American Revolution.

What does the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment prohibit?

The Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment prohibits states from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law. In other words, the laws of a state must treat an individual in the same manner as other people in similar conditions and circumstances.

What is the meaning of "all shall be equal before the law"?

Graffiti in Cape Town: "All shall be equal before the law.". Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic rule of law that observes due process ...

What is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law?

Liberalism portal. Politics portal. v. t. e. Equality before the law, also known as equality under the law, equality in the eyes of the law, legal equality, or legal egalitarianism, is the principle that all people must be equally protected by the law. The principle requires a systematic rule of law that observes due process to provide equal ...

Why was the parricide penalty declared unconstitutional?

Article 200 of the Criminal Code of Japan, the penalty regarding parricide, was declared unconstitutional for violating the equality under the law by the Supreme Court of Japan in 1973. This was a result of the trial of the Tochigi patricide case.

What does the Bible say about equality?

The Bible says that "You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.".

What is the general guarantee of equality?

The general guarantee of equality is provided by most of the world's national constitutions, but specific implementations of this guarantee vary. For example, while many constitutions guarantee equality regardless of race, only a few mention the right to equality regardless of nationality.

What is the principle of isonomy?

Sometimes called the principle of isonomy, it arises from various philosophical questions concerning equality, fairness and justice. Equality before the law is one of the basic principles of some definitions of liberalism. It is incompatible with legal slavery .

What is the principle of due process?

The principle requires a systematic rule of law that observes due process to provide equal justice, and requires equal protection ensuring that no individual nor group of individuals be privileged over others by the law.

What is equal justice under law?

Texas, Chief Justice Melville Fuller wrote on behalf of a unanimous Court as follows, regarding the Fourteenth Amendment: "the powers of the States in dealing with crime within their borders are not limited, but no State can deprive particular persons or classes of persons of equal and impartial justice under the law." The last seven words are summarized by the inscription on the U.S. Supreme Court building.

Where is equal justice?

The front of the Supreme Court Building, including the West Pediment. Equal justice under law is a phrase engraved on the West Pediment, above the front entrance of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.

What was the Leeper v. Texas opinion?

Later in 1891, Fuller's opinion for the Court in Leeper v. Texas again referred to "equal...justice under...law". Like Caldwell, the Leeper opinion was unanimous, in contrast to the Fuller Court's major disagreements about equality issues in other cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson.

Why were the murder indictments challenged in Ferguson?

Ferguson. In both Caldwell and Leeper, murder indictments were challenged because they allegedly gave inadequate notice of the crimes being charged. The Court upheld the indictments because they followed the form required by Texas law. In a case nine years later ( Maxwell v.

Who was the Greek leader who believed in equal justice?

Pericles, Greek statesman and general. In the funeral oration that he delivered in 431 BC, the Athenian leader Pericles encouraged belief in what we now call equal justice under law. Thus, when Chief Justice Fuller wrote his opinion in Caldwell v. Texas, he was by no means the first to discuss this concept.

Which amendment does not limit punishment?

The Court would later reject the idea that the Fourteenth Amendment does not limit punishments (see the 1962 case of Robinson v. California ). In the years since moving into their present building, the Supreme Court has often connected the words "equal justice under law" with the Fourteenth Amendment.

Who approved the inscription of the Supreme Court?

This phrase was suggested in 1932 by the architectural firm that designed the building. Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes and Justice Willis Van Devanter subsequently approved this inscription, as did the United States Supreme Court Building Commission which Hughes chaired ...

What does "created equal" mean?

Created Equal. All men are created equal is one of the most important doctrines that our founders espoused. It means that no one is above the law . Kings are not above the law, groups are not above the law, no individual is above the law but there is “equal justice under law.”. In 1776, the idea that no one is above the law was popular during ...

What happens when the law is subject to another authority?

Where the law is subject to some other authority and has none of its own, the collapse of the state, in my view, is not far off; but if law is the master of the government and the government is its slave, then the situation is full of promise and men enjoy all the blessings that the gods shower on a state. This Rule of Law and Equal Justice ...

Who said no one is above the law?

In 1776, the idea that no one is above the law was popular during the founding of the United States. Thomas Paine in the pamphlet Common Sense said, “in America, the law is King, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other.”. In the United States, the Supreme Court is the final authority on the interpretation ...

Which court is the final authority on the interpretation of the Constitution?

In the United States, the Supreme Court is the final authority on the interpretation of the Constitution and all the statutes and regulations created pursuant to it. We may not agree with all their interpretation of the laws and statutes but they become the law of the land.

Overview

History

Liberalism

Feminism

See also

Further reading