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URL: https://www.coursera.org/learn/civil-rights-law

⇱ Civil Rights Law | Coursera


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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Beginner level

Recommended experience

5 hours to complete
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Beginner level

Recommended experience

5 hours to complete
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Identify and apply civil rights laws to workplace decisions, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and accommodation.

  • Evaluate policies, data, and HR tools (including AI) for bias, disparate impact, and compliance risk.

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Recently updated!

April 2026

Assessments

4 assignments

Taught in English

Build your subject-matter expertise

This course is part of the Legal Aspects of Employment Practice Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 4 modules in this course

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to identify and apply core civil rights laws in the workplace, including discrimination, harassment, retaliation, accommodation, and pay equity. You’ll learn how to evaluate real workplace scenarios, recognize both obvious and subtle forms of discrimination, and assess organizational policies for legal risk and fairness. You’ll also develop the skills to conduct consistent, well-documented HR decision-making that aligns with federal and state civil rights standards.

This course is designed for HR professionals, managers, and anyone involved in employment decisions who wants practical, real-world guidance—not just legal definitions. Through applied examples and scenario-based analysis, you’ll see how everyday decisions around hiring, promotion, discipline, and workplace culture can create legal exposure if not handled carefully. What makes this course unique is its focus on patterns, judgment, and modern workplace challenges. You’ll go beyond traditional concepts to explore topics like adverse impact, psychological safety, intersectionality, and AI in HR decisions—helping you build confidence in navigating complex, real-world civil rights issues.

In this module, you'll explore the legal framework that protects employees from discrimination and harassment in the workplace and why it matters for every HR decision. You'll examine the core protections of Title VII, how disparate impact analysis works, what harassment and psychological safety mean in practice, and how retaliation claims arise and can be prevented. By the end of the module, you'll be prepared to recognize civil rights risks in everyday HR decisions and understand why consistent, documented, job-related decision-making is the foundation of legally defensible practice.

What's included

5 videos4 readings1 assignment

5 videosTotal 26 minutes
  • Instructor Introduction and Course Overview5 minutes
  • Foundations of Civil Rights Law in the Workplace6 minutes
  • Disparate Impact & Adverse Impact Analysis6 minutes
  • Harassment, Hostile Work Environment & Psychological Safety5 minutes
  • Retaliation: The #1 Most Common Claim5 minutes
4 readingsTotal 40 minutes
  • Course Outline10 minutes
  • Supporting Reading: Foundations of Civil Rights Law in the Workplace10 minutes
  • Supporting Reading: When "Just the Culture" Becomes a Legal Problem10 minutes
  • Review: Module Key Concepts10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 20 minutes
  • Practice Assessment: Module 120 minutes

In this module, you'll explore the specific areas of civil rights law that require the most structured HR processes and the most careful documentation. You'll examine how the ADA and ADAAA govern disability and mental health accommodations, how religious accommodation requests must be evaluated under the updated undue hardship standard, how equal pay laws and pay transparency requirements apply to compensation decisions, and how civil rights obligations extend to AI-driven HR tools. By the end of the module, you'll be prepared to navigate accommodation requests, evaluate pay equity concerns, and apply civil rights standards to the technology your organization uses to make employment decisions.

What's included

4 videos3 readings1 assignment

4 videosTotal 24 minutes
  • Disability Law, Mental Health, and the ADA/ADAAA6 minutes
  • Religious Accommodation & Global Context6 minutes
  • Equal Pay, Pay Transparency & Compensation Equity6 minutes
  • Civil Rights & AI in HR Decisions6 minutes
3 readingsTotal 30 minutes
  • Supporting Reading: Navigating Disability Accommodations in the Workplace10 minutes
  • Supporting Reading: Structuring Fair and Defensible Pay10 minutes
  • Review: Module Key Concepts10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 20 minutes
  • Practice Assessment: Module 220 minutes

In this module, you'll explore the civil rights issues that require the most nuanced analysis and the most deliberate organizational response. You'll examine how micro-experience discrimination creates cumulative liability, how intersectionality shapes civil rights claims and the way HR must evaluate them, how documentation and neutral investigations protect both employees and the organization when concerns arise, and how civil rights compliance connects to broader organizational strategy and leadership accountability. By the end of the module, you'll be prepared to recognize patterns that create legal exposure before they surface as formal claims, conduct and document responses that demonstrate good faith, and connect civil rights obligations to the systems and culture that make compliance sustainable over time.

What's included

4 videos3 readings1 assignment

4 videosTotal 22 minutes
  • Micro-Experience Discrimination & Modern Liability5 minutes
  • Intersectionality & Civil Rights Enforcement6 minutes
  • Documentation, Investigations & HR’s Legal Duty5 minutes
  • Civil Rights Law, Strategy & Organizational Accountability5 minutes
3 readingsTotal 30 minutes
  • Supporting Reading: When Small Moments Create Big Liability10 minutes
  • Responding Promptly and Neutrally: Documentation and HR's Duty to Investigate10 minutes
  • Review: Module Key Concepts10 minutes
1 assignmentTotal 20 minutes
  • Practice Assessment: Module 320 minutes

In this module, you'll synthesize what you've learned across the course and apply it to complex, real-world civil rights scenarios that require both legal precision and professional judgment. You'll examine situations where multiple frameworks overlap, where earlier decisions have created compliance exposure, and where HR must assess risk, correct course, and lead the organization toward accountability — all at once. By the end of the module, you'll be prepared to demonstrate the kind of integrated thinking that civil rights compliance requires in practice.

What's included

1 video2 readings1 assignment

1 videoTotal 4 minutes
  • Course Wrap-Up4 minutes
2 readingsTotal 11 minutes
  • Review: Course Key Concepts10 minutes
  • Congratulations and What's Next1 minute
1 assignmentTotal 40 minutes
  • Graded Assessment: Course40 minutes

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Instructor

University of California, Santa Barbara
6 Courses536 learners

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