which of the following are protected classes under the fair employment and housing act?
Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), it is illegal to discriminate in employment or housing based on the following protected classes.
Main FEHA protected classes
FEHA broadly protects people against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation when it is tied to one of these characteristics.
- Age (40 and over)
- Ancestry
- Race and color
- National origin (including aspects like language and accent)
- Religion (religious creed, belief, observance, and practice)
- Sex/gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions)
- Gender identity and gender expression
- Sexual orientation
- Marital status
- Medical condition (e.g., cancer or certain genetic characteristics)
- Physical disability
- Mental disability
- Genetic information
- Pregnancy or pregnancy disability (often listed with sex/gender but expressly protected)
- Military status / military service
- Veteran status
- Familial status (especially in the housing context, e.g., presence of children in the household)
In practice, any multiple‑choice question asking “which of the following are protected classes under the Fair Employment and Housing Act?” is looking for options that match one or more of the categories above and not things like occupation, personality, or general income level, which are not FEHA‑protected traits.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.