The ever-diversifying workplace of today is a true laboratory for success and progress. The multitude of perspectives and identities creates an environment that challenges prior beliefs and brings unheard ones into the fold. This diversity, however, has not always been or still is respected. To ensure that these diverse identities are treated fairly and equitably, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) considers specific personal characteristics as protected classes from discrimination.
This blog post aims to explain the legally protected characteristics, their purpose, the relevant legislation that protects them, and their continued necessity today.
What is a “Protected Class”
The definition of a protected characteristic, otherwise known as a protected class, are personal traits that are safeguarded from any form of discrimination or harassment in employment. Eight characteristics are nationally recognized as being a part of this classification: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information. Some characteristics have broad scopes, as “sex” also protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and pregnancy. In addition to these characteristics, some local jurisdictions have additional protections for traits like weight, hair, or height.
What these protect is also placed in a broader context, as discrimination in employment involves processes like hiring, office behavior, and firing. If a job were to refuse to hire people from a protected class, harass employees based on a trait while on the job, or fire them due to a personal characteristic, it would all be a violation of the law.
It is also essential to fight against the misconception that protection somehow translates into preference for jobs, promotions, and special treatments. Legally protected characteristics exist solely to promote equality and prevent discrimination and prejudice that diverse identities may face when accessing jobs or being employed. These laws affect people not even seen as diverse in the modern understanding, where traits like age and disability protects workers in more everyday ways.
Why These Legally Protected Characteristics Exist
These legal protections did not materialize out of nowhere; they were born out of necessity and through relentless struggle. For much of U.S. history, there were no meaningful restrictions on who employers could exclude. Hiring decisions based on race, gender, religion, or disability were entirely commonplace. Entire fields were kept from the reach of a multitude of diverse identities and deprived people of higher incomes, reputation, and purpose. Protected classes exist because, historically, the default has been exclusion.
Civil rights legislation in the 20th century came in response to centuries of inequality. Movements led by Black Americans, women, disability activists, and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community demanded not just symbolic recognition, but legal mechanisms to fight systemic discrimination. The law had to respond, because cultural change alone wasn’t enough.
The existence of protected characteristics reflects hard-won recognition: that bias doesn’t just live in overt bigotry or exclusion, it lives in policies, practices, and silence. Employment discrimination isn’t always a headline-grabbing act of hate. It can be any subtle way that subconscious biases can filter in.
What Laws Create These Protections
Multiple federal laws form the foundation of anti-discrimination protections in the United States. These statutes don’t just suggest equality, they enforce it. Together, they establish who is protected and under what circumstances.
The Equal Pay Act of 1963
This law mandates equal pay for equal work, regardless of sex, aiming to close the gender wage gap.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
The flagship of U.S. anti-discrimination law, Title VII makes it illegal for employers to discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It covers hiring, promotion, termination, compensation, and all terms of employment.
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Passed in 1967, this law protects workers over the age of 40 from being edged out due to age-related bias.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
An amendment to Title VII in 1978, this act clarifies that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is unlawful.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
Enacted in 1990, the ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations and bars them from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA)
Signed into law in 2008, GINA prohibits employers from using genetic information, such as family medical history, in hiring or promotion decisions.
Recent court decisions like Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) have expanded interpretations of these laws. In Bostock, the Supreme Court held that Title VII’s ban on “sex” discrimination includes sexual orientation and gender identity. This reinterpretation underscores that laws are not static, they can grow to reflect a more inclusive understanding of human rights.
Why These Protections Are Still Needed Today
Despite the existence of these laws, discrimination has not gone away, but instead just adapted. It has grown more abstract, hiding behind new barriers that prevent diverse identities from fair and equitable treatment in the workplace. But in a paradoxical sense, the abstract discrimination can still reveal itself in blatant ways. Women are still heavily underrepresented in leadership, workers of color face far higher rates of unemployment than white peers, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals routinely report an unwelcoming workplace, and disabled workers often face inaccessible workplaces. So, despite these legally enshrined protections, the reality can frequently be lacking in creating an equitable workplace.
It is also essential to discuss how recent presidential and judicial decisions have rolled back these protections. From the president signing vast new executive orders that specifically target diversity efforts, to the courts citing religious liberty as a valid reason to discriminate against diverse identities. The combination has created a somewhat hostile environment that hinders the promotion and protection of diversity.
This creates a double-edged issue, as the current protections can be both inadequate in going far enough to ensure equality, while also being prevented from doing their basic duties. However, decision makers choose to address that issue is left to them, but what can be stated is that any proposal that eradiates these protections should be entirely disregarded. These protections still accomplish a societal good, represent a long-fought process, and can be a tool to go further.
By Toby Keeler (he/him)
If you haven’t yet had the opportunity, make sure to order a copy of Elmer Dixon’s powerful memoir DIE STANDING: From Black Panther Revolutionary to Global Diversity Consultant and check out what others have been saying about Elmer and his story.
Check out these other opportunities to see what folks are saying about Elmer and his continued work.
- See Elmer speak at Stories from the Revolutions’ Front Lines at his keynote at TEDxUTulsa
- Listen to Elmer talk on NPR’s The Jefferson Exchange
- Read about Elmer’s story in a piece featured in The Seattle Times
- Listen to Elmer on The Medium