North Carolina Equal Employment Practices Act — scope and protected classes
North Carolina's Equal Employment Practices Act (NCEEPA) declares the state's public policy to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, or handicap by employers that regularly employ 15 or more employees. The NCEEPA does not create a private right of action. North Carolina courts, however, recognize the NCEEPA's public-policy declaration as a basis for common-law wrongful-discharge claims under the exception to the at-will employment doctrine.
Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-422.2; Coman v. Thomas Mfg. Co., 325 N.C. 172, 381 S.E.2d 445 (1989)
NCEEPA employer coverage — 15-employee threshold
The North Carolina Equal Employment Practices Act applies only to employers that "regularly employ 15 or more employees." The statute does not define "regularly employ" or specify a calculation method for determining whether the threshold is met. Employers below the 15-employee threshold are not subject to the NCEEPA's public-policy declaration against discrimination, though they remain subject to federal anti-discrimination laws that have independent coverage thresholds.
Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-422.2(a)