---
title: O.C.G.A. § 45-19-21. Purposes and construction of article.
collection: code
id: 45-19-21
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 45-19-21 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-19-21
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/45-19-21.md
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date: 2025
status: active
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heading_path: PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES / LABOR PRACTICES / FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES
---

# O.C.G.A. § 45-19-21. Purposes and construction of article.

(a) The general purposes of this article are:

(1) To provide for execution within public employment in the state of the policies embodied in Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (78 Stat. 241), as amended by the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972 (86 Stat. 103), as from time to time amended, the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (81 Stat. 602), as from time to time amended, and the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (87 Stat. 355), as from time to time amended;

(2) To safeguard all individuals in public employment from discrimination in employment; and

(3) To promote the elimination of discrimination against all individuals in public employment because of such individuals’ race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age thereby to promote the protection of their interest in personal dignity and freedom from humiliation; to make available to the state their full productive capacities; to secure the state against domestic strife and unrest which would menace its democratic institutions; to preserve the public safety, health, and general welfare; and to further the interests, rights, and privileges of individuals within the state.

(b) This article shall be broadly construed to further the general purposes stated in this Code section and the special purposes of the particular provision involved.

(c) Nothing in this article shall be construed as indicating an intent to exclude local or federal laws on the same subject matter, which laws are not inconsistent with this article.

(d) Nothing contained in this article shall be deemed to repeal any other nonconflicting law of this state relating to discrimination because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or age.

## History

Ga. L. 1978, p. 859, § 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1097, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 45; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1302, § 10.

## Law Reviews

For article, ‘‘Gender and Justice in the Courts: A Report to the Supreme Court of Georgia by the Commission on Gender Bias in the Judicial System,’’ see 8 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 539 (1992).

## U.s. Code.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, referred to in this Code section, is codified as 42 U.S.C. § 2000a et seq. The Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, referred to in this Code section, is codified as 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, referred to in this Code section, is codified as 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973, referred to in this Code section, is codified as 29 U.S.C. § 701 et seq.