An employer takes race or gender into account to achieve an affirmative action goal. Employees in the majority group allege they are harmed by the employer's consideration of race or gender in the hiring and promotion decisions. What is the basis for the employees' complaint?

Affirmative action refers to policies designed to promote equal opportunity for historically marginalized groups, aiming to address past discrimination. While the employer's actions are based on affirmative action principles, the complaint from the majority group does not relate directly to these policies, but rather to the perceived negative impact of such policies on themselves.

Disparate impact refers to policies or practices that, while neutral on their face, disproportionately affect a particular group. However, in this context, the employees' complaint specifically centers on the direct harm they feel from affirmative action considerations, rather than a general statistical disparity that may arise from neutral policies.

National origin pertains to discrimination based on a person's country of origin or ethnicity. The employees' complaint does not involve national origin but rather focuses on race and gender considerations in the employer's decision-making, making this choice irrelevant to their specific situation.