Employment Litigation
Discrimination Claims
Federal law protects race, color, religion, sex including pregnancy and sexual orientation, national origin, age forty and above, disability, and genetic information. States and municipalities add categories.
Coverage varies substantially by jurisdiction.
Alternative Names:
Protected Characteristic|Protected Category
Why it Matters?
State and local protections extend well beyond the federal list, covering marital status, sexual orientation where not federally reached before Bostock, gender identity, criminal history, credit status, and caregiver status in various jurisdictions. A multistate employer applying a federal-only framework will miss claims that state law supports. Confirming the applicable list by location is a compliance step rather than a litigation one.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Do state protections exceed federal ones?
What is the compliance risk?
