If you can prove each of these, you can win a discrimination suit. Protected classes are groups that lawmakers specifically protect from discrimination. Today, they include anyone who suffers discrimination because of their age, sex, race, national origin, disability, creed or religion. Some states and and even cities, such as Cleveland, Ohio, protect people against other types of discrimination, such as sexual orientation discrimination. A government must pass a law prohibiting discrimination against a particular class of people to create a new protected class.
Employers decide what qualifications are necessary for their jobs.
You must then prove that you were at least as qualified as a successful applicant who is not in the protected class. You can do this by comparing the resume of the least qualified successful applicant to your qualifications. If the employer says it requires a 12th grade education but in fact has hired someone outside of the protected class who only made it through grade 10, a court will treat a 10th grade education as the employer's actual qualification requirement. Few employers admit that they discriminate against applicants or employees. Experience shows, however, that employers still leave plenty of fingerprints.