&gt; As an attempt to bulletproof firings that target ostensible members of a protected class<p>This is phrased poorly -- everyone is a member of (several) protected class, since a protected class is an <i>axis</i> on which discrimination is illegal. Race is a protected class (not just particular races), color is a protected class (not just particular colors, and distinctly from race), religion is a protected class, sex (not just one sex) is a protected class, and so on.<p>And, in addition to anti-discrimination protected classes, there are all kinds of other prohibited bases for firing (e.g., retaliation for invoking various legally-protected workplace rights such as family&#x2F;medical leave, etc., or reporting violations of workplace protection, such as wage&#x2F;hour rules and occupational safety rules.)<p>PIPs are a tool for documenting reasons for firing to support that they were not for any unlawful reasons would be a more accurate phrasing than saying that they are a means of protecting firings that target &quot;ostensible members of a protected class&quot;.