Identification of Protected Class Groups

The following five groups are considered "Protected Classes" under various federal laws. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requires reporting employment information on the first two groups, females and minorities, which are traditionally underutilized.

1. FEMALES
   
2. INDIGENOUS MINORITIES. Groups for whom established patterns of discrimination have been determined to exist (based on self-identification):
   
   
   • Black: (not Hispanic origin): All persons having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
     
   • Hispanic: All persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.
     
   • American Indian or Alaskan Native: All persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America, and who maintain cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition.
     
   • Asian or Pacific Islander: All persons having their origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent or the Pacific Islands. For example: China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands and Samoa.
     
3. INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES: Defined as an individual who has a physical or mental impairment that constitutes a substantial limitation on a major life activity, a person with record of such an impairment, or a person who is perceived as having such an impairment. The law also protects those who are in a relationship or associated with someone with a disability.
   
4. VETERANS AND DISABLED VETERANS
   
5. PERSONS AGE 40 OR OVER.

Last Update: 5/2003