protected class
Discrimination-shielded group
A protected class is a group of people shielded by law from discrimination based on shared characteristics—race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, or similar attributes.
Employment law uses the term most often: Firing someone because they're in a protected class violates federal law.
The specific classes vary by jurisdiction and context.
- national originOne's birth country
- Civil Rights ActLaw prohibiting discrimination
- EEOCFederal workplace discrimination agency
- sexual orientationAttraction pattern by gender
- genetic informationCoded hereditary instructions
disparate impact · hostile environment · Age · retaliation · Title IX · whistleblower · reasonable accommodation · undue hardship · accommodation · burden of proof · discrimination · veteran · pregnancy · Voting Rights Act · suit · badge · gavel · Title VII
- civil rightsequal rights, Civil Rights Act, right to life, Voting Rights Act, civil liberties
- labor lawlabor code, labor law, labor laws, labor standards, labour law
- discrimination lawanti-discrimination, nondiscrimination, gender bias, pay discrimination, discrimination lawsuit
- Employment Discriminationdisparate impact, pay disparity, age discrimination, gender bias, racial disparity
- OOP conceptsclasses, inheritance, subclass, objects, encapsulation
- Education Equityeducation equity, desegregation, school integration, affirmative action, educational segregation
protected classprivileged class
Socially advantaged group
majority group · privileged status · ruling class · general population · in-group