EEO Protected Classes by State and Municipality

Author: Brightmine Editorial Team

In addition to the federal requirements of laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, virtually all states have equal employment opportunity laws that prohibit discrimination based on membership in specific protected classes. Additionally, many municipalities have enacted ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on protected class status. The following chart details such requirements for private employers.

Where age discrimination protections only cover individuals of a certain age, the protected ages are listed on the chart.

A "yes" under HIV/AIDS indicates that HIV/AIDS is explicitly covered by law. However, a "no" in that column does not mean an individual who is HIV positive or has AIDS has no employment protections, as HIV/AIDS could qualify as a disability under a disability discrimination law.

Note: Some municipal ordinances apply only to city contractors. Click on the link in the Jurisdiction column in the chart for details about the applicability of municipal ordinances.