[throwaway032023]

What is a “protected class?”

[keneda7]

No the OP but in America a protected class is someone who qualifies for special protection/considerations by law. Basically it is there to help prevent someone's condition from being used against them. According to wiki the US has 10 of them. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protected_group

edit: wiki lists 10 not 9

[dabbledash]

Small clarification, but in the US, the “protected class” is a characteristic not subset of the population.

So, “sex” is a protected class, and the protection applies to everyone. There have been cases protecting males from discrimination on the basis of sex (for example - where a state had a higher minimum drinking age for men than women).

[pyuser583]

Age is an exception. There are no protections for the young, only the old. There’s a certain age where (don’t know what it is) where you can’t be discriminated against, but below that you don’t have protections.

[dabbledash]

I believe SCOTUS hasn’t ruled that age is a “suspect classification” under the 14th amendment.

The federal ADEA (the Age Discrimination in Employment Act) only creates a right of action for people over 40.

It’s a weird one for sure. I wonder, if age were a suspect classification like sex, if the ADEA itself would be unconstitutional.

[pyuser583]

I mean wether SCOTUS found a right in the 14th amendment is neither here nor there. These sorts of things tend to come from laws passed by legislators.

[spicymaki]

Just to be clear, every US citizen fits into a protective class of some sort. It really prevents discrimination on the basis of your membership to a particular protective class. Like anything base on law/policy/etc. there are complexities, caveats, and exceptions.