Protected Classes Under California Employment Law: A Complete Guide
California employees have the right to a workplace where they are treated fairly and with respect, regardless of their identity, background, or personal characteristics. Even so, workplace discrimination continues to happen. In some cases, it is easy to recognize. In others, it appears through subtle patterns of unequal treatment.
California employment law protects workers from discrimination based on certain personal characteristics known as protected classes. These protections help prevent employers from making hiring, firing, promotion, pay, discipline, or other employment decisions based on unlawful factors. Understanding protected classes under California employment law can help employees recognize potential discrimination, better understand their rights, and identify workplace conduct that may violate state law.
What Is a Protected Class?
A protected class is a group of people who are legally protected from discrimination based on certain personal characteristics. These protections exist to help ensure that employment decisions are based on qualifications, experience, job performance, and legitimate business considerations rather than on assumptions about a person’s identity.
Employers generally cannot make employment decisions based on protected traits. Discrimination can occur at virtually any stage of the employment relationship, including:
- Hiring decisions
- Termination decisions
- Promotions
- Pay and compensation
- Scheduling
- Workplace discipline
- Harassment
- Job assignments and opportunities
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) provides some of the strongest worker protections in the country. FEHA protects both job applicants and employees and often provides broader protections than federal anti-discrimination laws.
What Protected Classes Exist Under California Employment Law?
Protected Class: Age
California law generally protects employees and job applicants age 40 and older from age discrimination.
Age discrimination is not always obvious. In some cases, it may appear through repeated comments about an employee being overqualified, suggestions that it is time to retire, or a pattern of favoring significantly younger workers for promotions, training opportunities, or leadership roles despite comparable qualifications and experience.
Common examples of age discrimination include:
- An older employee is repeatedly passed over for promotions in favor of younger, less experienced workers.
- Managers refer to older workers as too old-fashioned or not energetic enough.
- An employer pressures older employees into early retirement.
- A Silicon Valley startup repeatedly hires digital natives in their 20s while overlooking highly qualified engineers over age 40.
- Coworkers or management routinely make “OK boomer” jokes in Slack channels or other workplace communications.
Protected Class: Race and Color
California protects workers from discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, and physical traits historically associated with race.
The California CROWN Act expanded these protections by prohibiting discrimination based on natural hairstyles commonly associated with race, including locs, braids, twists, and similar styles. The law recognizes that workplace grooming policies can sometimes have a disproportionate impact on certain racial groups.
Race-based discrimination remains one of the most frequently reported civil rights violations in California workplaces. While discrimination may be obvious in some situations, it can also appear through unequal discipline, limited advancement opportunities, or workplace policies that disproportionately affect certain employees.
Common signs of race discrimination include:
- A San Francisco employer adopts a grooming policy that effectively prohibits locs.
- An employee receives harsher discipline than coworkers who engaged in similar conduct.
- Racist jokes, slurs, or offensive comments are tolerated by management.
- A qualified employee is denied advancement opportunities because of race.
Protected Class: Religion
Employees are also protected from discrimination based on religious beliefs, practices, observances, dress, and appearance. Employers may also be required to provide reasonable accommodations for sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would create an undue hardship.
Religious discrimination protections apply to both traditional organized religions and sincerely held religious beliefs that may not be associated with a specific denomination.
Common signs of religious discrimination include:
- An employer refuses a reasonable shift change needed to observe a religious holiday.
- A worker is mocked for wearing religious clothing or symbols.
- A supervisor treats an employee differently after the employee requests a religious accommodation.
- Workplace policies unnecessarily interfere with religious practices.
Protected Class: Gender Identity
California law protects employees from discrimination based on gender identity, gender expression, and transgender status.
These protections help ensure employees can work without fear of unequal treatment based on how they identify or express their gender. Employers are expected to respect employees’ gender identities and provide equal access to workplace opportunities and facilities.
Common signs of gender identity discrimination include:
- An employer intentionally refuses to use an employee’s correct pronouns.
- A transgender employee is denied access to a restroom that aligns with their gender identity.
- A worker experiences harassment after transitioning.
- An employee faces negative treatment after openly expressing their gender identity.
Protected Class: Sexual Orientation
Employees are protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation, including being gay, lesbian, bisexual, heterosexual, or otherwise identifying within the LGBTQ+ community.
Sexual orientation discrimination is not always obvious. In some cases, it may appear through subtle changes in treatment after an employer learns about an employee’s relationship, spouse, or personal life. In other situations, it may involve repeated comments, exclusion, or unequal opportunities that create a hostile work environment.
Common examples of sexual orientation discrimination include:
- Negative performance reviews suddenly appear after a worker adds a same-sex spouse to company benefits.
- A worker experiences harassment after coworkers learn they are LGBTQ+.
- An employee is denied advancement opportunities after disclosing a same-sex partner.
- Offensive comments or jokes are ignored by management or coworkers.
Protected Class: Marital Status
California prohibits discrimination based on whether a worker is single, married, divorced, separated, or widowed. Marital status discrimination often occurs when employers make assumptions about a worker’s availability, priorities, or long-term commitment based on their personal relationships.
Common signs of marital status discrimination include:
- An employer refuses to hire married applicants for certain positions.
- A divorced employee is excluded from workplace opportunities after management learns about their marital status.
- A worker is denied promotions because management assumes family obligations will interfere with work.
Protected Class: Off-Duty Cannabis Use
Starting January 1, 2024, California expanded employee protections through AB 2188, which generally prohibits employers from discriminating against workers based on lawful cannabis use that occurs off the job and during non-working hours. These protections recognize that traditional drug tests may detect inactive cannabis metabolites long after any impairing effects have disappeared.
Importantly, these protections do not prevent employers from maintaining drug-free workplaces or disciplining employees who are impaired while working. Employers may still prohibit employees from possessing, using, or being under the influence of cannabis while on the job.
For example, a warehouse worker may have consumed a cannabis gummy weeks earlier while off duty. Their employer generally cannot rely solely on the presence of inactive, non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites to justify disciplinary action. However, an employee who is impaired or under the influence while at work may still face disciplinary action.
Protected Class: Military or Veteran Status
California law protects individuals from discrimination based on past, present, or future service in the military, reserves, or National Guard.
These protections help ensure service members are not forced to choose between military obligations and civilian careers. California employers generally must comply with laws that protect military leave rights and require reinstatement following qualifying service.
These protections are particularly important in California, where National Guard members are frequently activated for emergencies such as wildfire response, natural disasters, and other state needs.
Common signs of military-status discrimination include:
- An employer refuses to reinstate a National Guard member to their previous position, or one with equivalent pay and seniority, after returning from deployment.
- A hiring manager passes over a highly qualified veteran applicant based on assumptions that the veteran may have PTSD or be too rigid for the company culture.
- A reservist is repeatedly passed over for promotions because management assumes periodic training obligations or potential deployments make them unreliable.
Protected Class: Medical Condition
Employers generally cannot discriminate against workers because of medical conditions, pregnancy, disabilities, genetic information, or other protected medical information.
California law also protects the confidentiality of certain medical information. In many situations, employers may be required to engage in an interactive process and provide reasonable accommodations when supported by appropriate medical documentation.
These protections help ensure that workers are evaluated based on their ability to perform their jobs rather than assumptions about their health or future medical needs.
Common examples of medical information discrimination include:
- An applicant is not hired because they are pregnant.
- Management improperly shares confidential medical information with coworkers.
- An employee is terminated shortly after disclosing a cancer diagnosis.
- Management refuses to provide a reasonable accommodation, such as a modified chair or adjusted schedule, for an employee with a documented back injury.
Retaliation After Reporting Workplace Discrimination
California law not only protects workers from discrimination but also prohibits retaliation against employees who report discrimination, participate in workplace investigations, oppose unlawful conduct, request workplace accommodations, or otherwise exercise their legal rights.
Retaliation is often more difficult to recognize than discrimination. While some employers take obvious actions, such as terminating an employee after a complaint, retaliation often appears in more subtle forms of workplace mistreatment.
A worker who previously received positive evaluations may suddenly face heightened scrutiny, exclusion from important meetings, or fewer opportunities for advancement after speaking up about discrimination. In some cases, retaliation may create a separate legal claim even if the underlying discrimination claim is ultimately disputed or cannot be proven.
If you believe workplace discrimination or retaliation has occurred, speaking with an employment discrimination attorney can help you better understand your rights and legal options. Call 833-893-6763 or complete our online contact form to schedule a free consultation.