NJ Law Against Discrimination

The LAD prohibits discrimination and bias-based harassment based on actual or perceived:
• Race or color;
• Religion or creed;
• National origin, nationality, or ancestry;
• Sex, pregnancy, or breastfeeding;
• Sexual orientation;
• Gender identity or expression;
• Disability;
• Marital status or domestic partnership/civil union status;
• Liability for military service;
• In housing: familial status and source of lawful income used for rental or mortgage payments;
• In employment: age, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, genetic information, the refusal to submit to a genetic test or make available to an employer the results of a genetic test.

Anyone who believes their rights under the LAD have been violated may file a complaint with DCR within 180 days of the incident. Click here to learn more about filing a complaint with DCR.
Click here to view a fact sheet about the LAD.

The LAD’s prohibition against discrimination means that an employer cannot fire someone, pay someone less money, or refuse to hire or promote someone because of their race. Similarly, a housing provider cannot refuse to rent an apartment to a couple because of their sexual orientation. And a place of public accommodation cannot refuse to serve someone because of their religion or nationality.

The LAD prohibits conduct that is intended to treat people differently based on their membership in a protected class (disparate treatment) as well as policies and practices that disproportionately affect those in a protected class, even when the policies and practices are neutral on their face and are not intended to discriminate (disparate impact).

The LAD prohibits bias-based harassment.  If someone is being subjected to bias-based harassment that creates a hostile environment, an employer, housing provider, or place of public accommodation must take reasonable steps to stop the harassment if they knew or should have known about it. That includes harassment between coworkers, tenants, or patrons, not just harassment by a landlord or by a supervisor at work.

The LAD also prohibits sexual harassment, a form of gender-based discrimination.

Quid pro quo harassment is when a benefit (like a promotion at work, a lease on an apartment, or access to a restaurant) is conditioned on sexual favors, or when an adverse action (like getting fired or evicted) is threatened if a person refuses a sexual advance.

Hostile environment is when a person is subjected to unwanted harassing conduct based on gender that is severe or pervasive. This can include verbal harassment, such as obscene language or demeaning comments; physical harassment, such as unwanted touching; or visual harassment, such as displaying pornographic images, cartoons, or drawings.

Click here to view a fact sheet about protections from sexual harassment under the LAD.

The LAD prohibits retaliation against a person for complaining about, reporting, or cooperating in an investigation of alleged discrimination or biased-based harassment, or otherwise exercising or attempting to exercise their rights under the law. For example, an employer cannot fire, demote, or otherwise penalize an employee for reporting sexual harassment to human resources and a housing provider cannot attempt to evict someone for reporting housing discrimination to DCR.

The LAD’s prohibition on disability discrimination means that in addition to not discriminating against individuals based on disability, employers, housing providers, and places of public accommodation must provide reasonable accommodations to a person with a disability unless doing so would be an undue burden on their operations. A reasonable accommodation may include:

• Restructuring the job of a person with a disability, or providing a modified work schedule or leave of absence;
• Allowing a tenant with a disability to keep an emotional support animal, even if the building has a no-pet policy;
• Making public accommodations accessible to people with disabilities (including allowing a person with a disability to be accompanied by a service animal).

The obligation to consider or to provide a reasonable accommodation may be triggered when an employer, housing provider, or place of public accommodation becomes aware that a person with a disability needs an accommodation. The person is not required to use any magic words in order request to an accommodation and cannot be penalized for requesting an accommodation.

The obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation also applies to people who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Click here to learn more about protections from discrimination based on pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Finally, the obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation also applies to accommodations on the basis of religion.  So, for example, an employer who has a “no hat” policy would be required to grant a reasonable accommodation to a Muslim woman who wears a hijab or a Jewish man who wears a yarmulke, unless doing so would be an undue burden on their operations.

The LAD prohibits conduct that is intended to treat people differently based on their membership in a protected class (disparate treatment) as well as policies and practices that disproportionately affect those in a protected class, even when the policies and practices are neutral on their face and are not intended to discriminate (disparate impact).

As of July 1, 2024, domestic workers are protected from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in employment under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. Examples of domestic workers are housekeepers, in-home caretakers for children, in-home caretakers for elderly people, chefs, and butlers.

The New Jersey Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act also amends the definition of employer to include any person or entity that provides compensation for the performance of domestic services.

Learn more about worker protections enforced by the NJ Department of Labor and Workforce Development here.

DCR stands with immigrant and refugee communities.
Our division enforces the Law Against Discrimination to protect all New Jersey residents, regardless of immigration status. Learn more here. If you believe you have been subject to discrimination or bias-based harassment within the last 180 days, you can file with our division using our online system: bias.njcivilrights.gov.