What are my civil rights? How do I report discrimination or harassment?

Last Updated: 05/09/2023

Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), you are protected from discrimination and harassment based on your gender identity and gender expression, including being transgender, non-binary, or gender non-conforming.

You are protected from discrimination:

  • At work
  • At most schools
  • At stores, restaurants, and other places open to the public
  • As a consumer
  • When buying or renting property

You have the right to:

  • Be treated according to your gender identity
  • Self-identify, dress in accordance with your gender identity, and be addressed by your name, title, and pronouns – without being required to show "proof" of gender identity.

In addition, an employer, housing provider, or place of public accommodation must act to stop harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, or other protected characteristics if they know or should have known about it.

See below for a summary of your rights, or refer to the NJ Division on Civil Rights (DCR) for a detailed legal explanation of your rights.

If you believe your civil rights were violated, file a complaint with DCR within 180 days of the incident.

At Work

It is unlawful for an employer, labor organization, or employment agency to discriminate based on gender identity or expression in hiring, firing, promotions, and offering benefits including healthcare, parental leave, and family leave that are offered to similarly-situated employees.

For example, an employer cannot deny a person full participation in a company's health benefits or refuse to assign an employee to a public-facing position because they are transgender. Similarly, an employer must allow transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming employees to bring their partners to employer events if cisgender employees are allowed to bring theirs.

Where an employer requires employees to follow reasonable dress or grooming standards, employees must be permitted to dress and groom in a way that affirms their gender identity or allows them to express their gender identity.

Employees also have the right to use an employer restroom or changing room consistent with their gender identity or gender expression. Refusal to allow an individual to use the restroom or changing room consistent with their gender identity or gender expression would be unlawful under the LAD.

Learn more about your protections in the workplace.

At Schools, Businesses, Restaurants, and Other Places Open To The Public

Discrimination and harassment are prohibited in places of public accommodation. Places of public accommodation are places that are open to the public such as stores, restaurants, hotels, theaters, sports facilities, hair-cutting establishments, medical offices, government buildings, and most schools.

The LAD prohibits such places, and their agents, from directly or indirectly refusing, withholding, or denying anyone accommodations, services, or privileges because of a person's actual or perceived gender identity or gender expression.

For example, it is unlawful for a physician or health care provider to refuse to see a person because they are gender non-binary. It is also unlawful for a restaurant or a business to refuse to serve someone or to seat someone in a less desirable location because they are transgender.

Refusal to allow an individual to use the restroom or locker room consistent with their gender identity or gender expression is unlawful under the LAD, as would refusal to allow a person to participate in or be admitted to a gender-segregated activity sponsored by the place of public accommodation or a gender-segregated place of public accommodation.

Learn more about your protections in public accommodations and in schools.

As a Consumer

It is unlawful to refuse to do business with any person because of their gender identity or gender expression. This includes buying, selling, leasing, licensing, contracting, trading, or providing goods, services, or information.

It is also unlawful to discriminate based on gender identity or gender expression in financial transactions, such as loans, mortgages, extensions of credit, and financial assistance.

That means, for example, a lender cannot make decisions about a mortgage, or offer less favorable terms on a loan, because an applicant is transgender. People must also be treated according to their gender identity or gender expression in business and financial transactions.

In Housing and Real Estate

You are protected from discrimination and harassment in the purchase or rental of a house, apartment, office, or other residential or commercial property because of gender identity or gender expression. The law applies to real estate agents and housing providers, including property owners, agents, employees, brokers, landlords, superintendents, and condominium associations.

The law means, for example, that a leasing agent cannot decline to offer you an available housing opportunity because you are transgender. You also cannot be steered toward a less desirable apartment or building, or subject to increased deposit, rent, or other charges because of your gender identity or gender expression.

In same-gender housing environments, you also have the right to be housed according to your gender identity or gender expression. Refusal to allow an individual to live in gender-segregated housing consistent with their gender identity or expression is unlawful under the LAD.

Learn more about your protections in housing.

Harassment

Harassment and making statements or taking action that show that a person is unwelcome because of gender identity or gender expression, or making it more difficult for a person to do a job, engage in a business transaction, use a public accommodation, or have full and equal access to housing or real estate because of gender identity or gender expression can also violate the LAD.

While accidental misuse of a person's name, pronouns, or title may not violate the LAD, intentionally or repeatedly using the incorrect name, pronouns, or title constitutes unlawful 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 know or should have known about it. That includes harassment between coworkers, tenants, or patrons, not just harassment by a supervisor at work, a landlord, or an employee of a public place.

For example, school leadership cannot refuse to take action if they know or should have known that a student is being repeatedly harassed, insulted, or name-called by classmates for being transgender.

Retaliation

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.

For a detailed legal explanation of your rights, refer to the NJ Division on Civil Rights' guide to the LAD.

Sources: