What group of employers does Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically applies to employers with fifteen or more employees. This threshold is significant because it was established to ensure that the protections against employment discrimination extend to medium-sized businesses while not imposing undue burdens on smaller employers. The Act aims to prohibit employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and this requirement for a minimum number of employees helps to balance the objectives of promoting equality in the workplace with the realities of small business operations.

In contrast, the other choices do not accurately represent the scope of Title VII. For instance, stating that it applies to all employers in the United States would include those who do not meet the employee threshold, which is not true. Limiting the applicability to only federal government employers disregards the Act's broader intent to cover private and state employers as well, provided they meet the employee count. Furthermore, suggesting that it applies only to employers in specific industries mistakenly narrows the law's reach and does not align with the comprehensive nature of the regulations that aim to protect civil rights broadly across various sectors of the economy.