The Federal EEOC actually has several laws supporting their stance that no employee should be discriminated against for virtually any reason. The first of these was enacted in 1964 and was the Civil Rights Act. It prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; The second is the Equal Pay Act of 1963 which prohibits paying men more for the same job that a woman performs. The Age Discrimination act of 1967 was added to ensure that no one is discriminated against because of age. The Americans with Disabilities Act was enacted in 1990. Basically, this prohibits employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the private sector, and in state and local governments; The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces all of these laws. There are also many laws which are aimed at the federal sector which are not overseen by the EEOC but work to prevent discrimination none-the-less. Thousands of claims are made every year to the EEOC concerning discrimination of all kinds. The process can be a long and complicated one. Depending on which type of claim that is being filed, it must be filed within 30-45 days. There have been cases which have taken well over a year to be heard.