Final answer:
The protected classes under Title VII are race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Answer A is correct. Other federal laws protect against age and disability discrimination, and recent case law is expanding sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Step-by-step explanation:
The protected classes under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Title VII pertains to employment discrimination and it does not explicitly mention age, disability, or sexual orientation as protected classes.
However, it is important to note that other federal laws, such as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, provide protections for age and disability, respectively.
In recent years, federal case law has begun to interpret Title VII's prohibition of sex discrimination as encompassing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, although this is an evolving area of the law and may depend on jurisdiction. Therefore, the correct answer to the question would be A. race, color, religion, sex, national origin.