Protected Class Data

Personal information relating to characteristics that define legally protected classes under anti-discrimination laws, such as race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, citizenship status, familial status, or veteran status. While not a formally defined legal term in privacy law, protected class data deserves special consideration because improper use can lead to discrimination prohibited under civil rights laws like Title VII, Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, and others. This data overlaps with GDPR's special categories of personal data (Article 9) and CPRA's sensitive personal information. Organizations must carefully consider whether collecting such data is necessary and justified, implement strong safeguards, use it only for legitimate purposes (such as affirmative action programs or diversity monitoring), never use it for discriminatory purposes, and comply with both privacy laws and anti-discrimination statutes. Algorithmic decision-making using protected class data requires particularly careful scrutiny to avoid disparate impact.