Hiring and Firing April 16, 2010, 4:21PM EST

A Guide for Managers to Protected Groups

Sure, you know the U.S. has laws against job discrimination, but exactly who is protected and how under the ADA and other acts? Attorney Jonathan A. Segal sheds some light

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We hear a lot about "protected groups," but what does this mean? To state it simply, a supervisor or manager cannot consider certain characteristics or activities under federal, state, or local law with regard to any employment decision, policy, or practice. For example, a retail store could not reject an applicant with hair loss due to chemotherapy for fear that customers would not be comfortable working with her. While an exhaustive list of all protected groups is beyond the scope of this article, the most common are discussed below, and they generally apply to job applicants and existing employees alike.

AGE

Under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, you cannot discriminate against an individual because he is "older." How does the law define older? Beginning at age 40. Ouch. Sorry, that's Congress' conclusion, not mine. When does protection end? Death.

What constitutes age discrimination? For example, a job requires that a candidate work long and hard hours. It would be unlawful to assume an older person wouldn't be able to work the hours, and you cannot deny him the job because you fear it will be too hard for him. Conversely, the fact that he is older doesn't mean you must or should expect less of him.

Also important to know: Absent very narrow circumstances, there is no permissible mandatory retirement age. Are employees under 40 protected? Not under federal law. You'll have to wait. Some states, however, have laws that protect younger employees.

GENDER

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits an employer from discriminating against an applicant or employee because of his or her gender. While Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination was enacted primarily to protect women, it also safeguards men. Gender stereotyping counts as a form of sex discrimination, too. In other words, you don't have to be a man to hold a job that requires toughness any more than you have be to a woman to hold a job that requires nurturing.

PREGNANCY

After Title VII became law, some employers were still discriminating based on pregnancy. The rationale: There are pregnant and nonpregnant women, so discrimination based on pregnancy does not equal discrimination based on sex. Come on, guys. If an employer treated prostate cancer more harshly than other cancers, most would believe the employer was discriminating based on sex, because only men have prostate issues. So substitute prostate for pregnancy, and you'll see that pregnancy discrimination really is sex discrimination. Even the Supreme Court got it wrong, so Congress enacted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), which makes it unlawful for an employer to make decisions based on the fact that an applicant or employee is pregnant (or not).

RACE/COLOR

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also prohibits an employer from discriminating against an applicant or employee because of her race or color. While the government enacted Title VII's prohibition on race discrimination principally to protect African Americans, it also protects all other races, including Caucasians. And even if two individuals are of the same race, differences in skin color cannot be considered. For example, Title VII prohibits a light-skinned African American from discriminating against a dark-skinned African American. Always remember that customer preference does not justify invidious discrimination based on race or color. Even if your customers discriminate, you can't. Find new customers.

NATIONAL ORIGIN

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an employer also cannot discriminate against an applicant or employee based on his national origin. Accordingly, you cannot consider where someone was born or where his parents or grandparents were born. Keep in mind that national origin differs from citizenship. It relates to an individual's "roots," not whether he or she is a U.S. citizen now. Y'all be careful of making decisions based on accent, too.