Protected Places

Knowing your rights is key to protecting your rights. This page provides important information about your rights under the New York State Human Rights Law, which is our state’s anti-discrimination law. The New York State Human Rights Law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone because of certain personal traits known as “protected characteristics,” like their skin color or gender.

The Human Rights Law prohibits discrimination in many settings that New Yorkers encounter often, including:

• Employment and internships;
• Housing, including renting or buying;
• Places of public accommodation, like stores, restaurants, hospitals, and hotels;
• Public and private schools, except religious schools and some for-profit schools; and
• Credit transactions.

For the Division of Human Rights to investigate a complaint about discrimination, the act of discrimination needs to have occurred in a setting that is covered by the Human Rights Law and needs to be based on a protected characteristic.

Learn more about protected traits covered by the New York State Human Rights Law on our Protected Characteristics page.

If you experience discrimination, report it to us by calling (844) 697-3471 to speak with a trained agent who can help you through the process.

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You can learn more about which protected places are covered under the New York State Human Rights Law below.

The Human Rights Law covers every employer in the state, regardless of size. This includes state and local government entities.  It is illegal for any employer to discriminate against someone based on a protected characteristic in the hiring process; while someone is on the job; or in their terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.  The Law also protects against discrimination in the granting of a license related to a job or profession.

The Human Rights Law covers anyone or any organization who sells, rents, or leases housing to other people. This means that the law applies to owners, tenants, subtenants, managing agents, real estate brokers, real estate agents, and any agents or employees of any of these individuals. It is illegal for any housing provider to discriminate against a tenant, potential tenant, or potential buyer of a home based on a protected characteristic.

In addition to housing, the Human Rights Law also makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on a protected class in transactions related to the rental or sale of land or commercial space.

The Human Rights Law also places additional obligations on real estate brokers, real estate salespersons, and their employees. Specifically, it is against the law for them to refuse to negotiate for the sale, rental, or leasing of housing, or to say that housing is not available for sale, rental, or lease when it is in fact available.

The Human Rights Law covers every type of housing except rental units in two-family homes where the owner lives in the home, and room rentals where the person renting the room also lives in the housing accommodation. It is important to remember that although the Human Rights Law does not apply to these housing accommodations, local fair housing laws may apply.

The Human Rights Law covers places of public accommodation, which is a term that means places that are generally open to the public. It is illegal for any place of public accommodation to discriminate against someone based on a protected characteristic. Examples of places of public accommodation include, but are not limited to:

• Stores
• Restaurants and bars
• Health clinics and hospitals
• Hotels and motels
• Movie theatres, music halls, museums and other cultural or entertainment venues
• Public areas of buildings or offices
• Entities that provide any type of goods or services available to the public
• Public accommodations are covered by the Law regardless of whether they are owned or operated by state or local government, or by a private entity

The Human Rights Law covers nearly every educational institution in the state. It is illegal for educational institutions to discriminate against students or applicants based on a protected class. Schools also have a duty to take action to address bullying and harassment, and failure to do so may violate the Human Rights Law.

Educational institutions covered by the Human Rights Law include:

• Public schools (including pre-kindergarten through high school);
• Charter schools;
• Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES);
• Public colleges and universities;
• Universal Pre-K, Head Start or other publicly funded pre-kindergarten programs;
• Private schools at all education levels (except schools run by a religious organization); and
• For-profit non-sectarian colleges, universities, licensed career schools, or certified English as a second language schools.

The Human Rights Law covers credit and lending transactions. It is illegal for a financial institution to discriminate against you in the terms of a credit or lending transaction based on a protected characteristic. 

The Human Rights Law makes it illegal for volunteer firefighting organizations to discriminate against members or potential members based on a protected class. 

The Human Rights Law makes it illegal to “boycott or blacklist, or to refuse to buy from, sell to or trade with” someone because of their protected class. Examples of potentially unlawful actions covered by this part of the law might include:

• A business refusing to deliver goods or provide services in a particular neighborhood because of that neighborhood’s racial or ethnic makeup;
• A publication refusing to accept advertisements from businesses that are owned by people of a certain race, religion, or sexual orientation; or
• A business refusing to use the services of another company because that company’s staff includes people of racial or gender minorities.

If you filed a complaint with the Division of Human Rights in the past, your complaint may have been settled through a process known as a “Pre-determination Conciliation Agreement.” This is a settlement between parties that happens while a complaint is still under investigation. If one or more of the other parties to your agreement violates the terms of that agreement, you may be able to file a new complaint. The Human Rights Law makes it illegal to violate the terms of pre-determination conciliation agreements.

For the Division of Human Rights to investigate a complaint about discrimination, the act of discrimination also needs to have occurred in relation to a protected characteristic, like age, race, military status, disability, etc. Learn more about the traits protected under the New York State Human Rights Law using the Protected Characteristics button below.