In which situation will the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission protect an individual from discrimination?

The situation involving a pregnant woman who is fired for revealing her pregnancy falls under the protections provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on various factors, including pregnancy, which is safeguarded under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This act specifies that discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions is considered a form of unlawful sex discrimination. Therefore, if a woman is fired specifically because she disclosed her pregnancy, this constitutes discrimination that the EEOC is designed to address, thereby protecting her rights as an employee.

In contrast, the other scenarios do not typically fall under the purview of discrimination laws enforced by the EEOC. For example, denial of promotion based on lack of experience may not directly relate to protected characteristics like race, gender, or disability. Similarly, overlooking someone for a job solely based on ethnicity would indeed involve discrimination, but the specific option implies a more generalized scenario regarding non-selection that may not be directly actionable. Lastly, demotion for missing deadlines is more a matter of performance rather than discrimination based on a protected class. Therefore, the protections of the EEOC are specifically applicable in the first scenario regarding pregnancy.