Final answer:
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, particularly Title VII, prohibits employers and others from discriminating based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or national origin in employment and public accommodations.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The law that made it a federal offense for employers, renters, shopkeepers, and others to discriminate on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or national origin in a place of public accommodation is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, Title VII of the Act prohibits discrimination in employment, stating that employers cannot discriminate in hiring, firing, compensation, promotion, and other terms or conditions of employment. Additionally, the Act aimed to end the unequal application of voter registration requirements, racial segregation in schools, and segregation in businesses that served the general public, which are known as public accommodations.
Under Title VII, equal employment opportunity is safeguarded, protecting employees against discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Moreover, this law has been instrumental in guiding employers to foster a workplace environment free of discrimination and to ensure that job opportunities are accessible to everyone, regardless of their background.
Encompassing a wide range of protections, the Civil Rights Act has played a crucial role in advancing civil rights in the United States, especially for racial minorities, through legislation like the Voting Rights Act of 1965.