Under FEHA, employers are prohibited from adverse action against an employee or applicant because of:

Under FEHA, employers are prohibited from adverse action against an employee or applicant because of:

• A. A protected criminal history
• B. A protected status
• C. Personal appearance
• D. Work attendance patterns

Answer: (B)

FEHA protects employees and applicants from discrimination based on protected statuses—characteristics that are themselves protected by law (such as race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and similar categories). Because of this, employers may not take adverse action like firing, demoting, or denying a job or promotion because someone has one of these protected statuses. The other factors listed—criminal history, personal appearance, and work attendance patterns—aren’t protected statuses under FEHA, so actions based solely on them aren’t prohibited by FEHA in the same way. (Note that separate laws may regulate uses of criminal history and accommodations for attendance related to disabilities, but those are separate considerations from FEHA’s protection against discrimination based on protected status.)

FEHA protects employees and applicants from discrimination based on protected statuses—characteristics that are themselves protected by law (such as race, gender, religion, national origin, age, disability, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and similar categories). Because of this, employers may not take adverse action like firing, demoting, or denying a job or promotion because someone has one of these protected statuses. The other factors listed—criminal history, personal appearance, and work attendance patterns—aren’t protected statuses under FEHA, so actions based solely on them aren’t prohibited by FEHA in the same way. (Note that separate laws may regulate uses of criminal history and accommodations for attendance related to disabilities, but those are separate considerations from FEHA’s protection against discrimination based on protected status.)