protected classifications

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The law prohibits employers from making decisions regarding employees based upon protected classes. But what is a protected class?

Protected classes are certain categories of specific, personal characteristics. For example, gender is a protected class. That means, an employer may not make decisions regarding employees based upon the employee’s gender. An employer cannot fire, demote, …

Harassment is unfair conduct targeting an employee or a group of employees based upon a protected class. Harassment can be verbal, physical, or visual (such as posters, cartoons, or drawings). See, Cal. Code Regs., tit. 2, §7287.6(b)(1). 

For example, if employees frequently refer to a back co-worker as “boy” or use racial slurs, then …

An employer cannot fire, demote, refuse to hire, or take other job actions concerning employees based on the employee’s

  • race,
  • religion,
  • color,
  • ancestry,
  • disability,
  • gender,
  • veteran status, or
  • any other protected class.

For example, if a clothing store decides to give raises only to non-Latino employees because it wants the store’s appearance to match a …