Understanding Protected Class Analysis

Understanding protected class and the considerations and implications that this class of employees has on business is vital to embrace diversity in the workplace. Many laws have been established to ensure that all individuals have the same opportunities to compete and be successful. This essay will define protected class, compare and contrast Affirmative Action law against Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Additionally, the relationship between deservingness and attitudes toward social provision to groups and the relationship to Affirmative Action policy (Wilkins & Wenger, 2014) will be discussed. The protected class is defined as those individuals whose minority status is based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or veteran status (Siegel, 2004). As evidenced by the list above, the protected class covers a wide range of potential individuals that may be considered for employment. As business leaders valuing diversity and inclusion in the workplace, it is essential that a wide variety of potential candidates be included in the search and interview process (Siegel, 2004). Failure to ensure a diverse sampling of candidates could have long term effects such as branding a company as exclusionary in hiring …show more content…
Belief in a just world simply stated is the belief that individuals get what they deserve (Wilkins & Wenger, 2014). Good things happen to those that deserve it, and do not for those who are undeserving. Affirmative Action’s focus on women and minority could be viewed as those classes are deserving of protections and opportunities, as they have been discriminated against in the past due to no fault of their own (Wilkins & Wenger,