Law Against Discrimination (LAD)

Not every bias incident will rise to the level of a criminal offense. For example, certain forms of hate speech may be protected under the First Amendment. Other cases may involve a violation of one’s civil rights and may not involve a criminal violation. Nonetheless, these types of cases should still be reported to your local police department for assessing potential criminal activity or a possible referral to another agency such as the Division on Civil Rights (DCR).

If an incident is not a bias crime, but rather a potential violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), the matter is referred to DCR, which is responsible for enforcing the LAD. 

The LAD prohibits discrimination and bias-based harassment based on many protected classes in employment (including labor unions and employment agencies), housing (include housing providers and realtors), and places of public accommodation (generally, places open to the public, including businesses, restaurants, schools, summer camps, medical providers, government offices and agencies, etc.).

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.

What is and is not covered under the LAD?

The LAD applies to employment, housing, and places of public accommodation.  For example, 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, however, does not generally apply to discriminatory acts that occur outside the employment, housing, and public accommodations contexts. 

The LAD applies only to bias-based harassment that occurs in New Jersey, and generally does not apply to bias-based harassment that occurs in another state.

To learn more, visit NJCivilRights.gov.