Attorney general joins coalition urging Senate to pass Equality Act

TRENTON, NJ — Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced June 23 that he has joined a coalition of attorneys general in urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Equality Act, which would expand federal civil rights laws to protect individuals from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. New Jersey and many other states already offer similar protections, but several states do not. The Equality Act would address this patchwork of state civil rights laws by establishing nationwide protections.

Passed by the House of Representatives in February but still pending before the Senate, the Equality Act would expand the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include new protections for LGBTQ individuals. Specifically, the law would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, education, federally-funded programs, credit, federal jury service and places of public accommodation.

Among other things, the law would bar businesses and others from denying a person access to a shared facility — including a restroom, locker room or dressing room — that corresponds to that person’s gender identity. It would also provide federal protections for people who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

“Here in New Jersey, we’ve been at the forefront of efforts to ensure the equal treatment of all our residents through legislation, public awareness and civil rights enforcement,” Grewal said. “In keeping with that commitment, we staunchly support passage of the Equality Act. Our Law Against Discrimination already contains the key protections that the Equality Act will provide and it is time for them to become the law of the land nationwide.”

Enacted in 1945, New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination has been amended multiple times in the years since its enactment to include protections for individuals based on their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and status as pregnant or breastfeeding, among other protected characteristics.

Many other states have also adopted laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, but 27 states still lack laws protecting LGBTQ individuals from discrimination. In this letter to the Senate’s majority and minority leadership, as well as to leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Grewal and the other participating attorneys general argue that the Equality Act would “fill the gap,” while also expanding the states’ “civil rights enforcement tool kit.” 

While the landmark Supreme Court decision Bostock v. Clayton County, issued in June 2020, held that discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation and transgender status violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, these protections do not necessarily extend to other sectors of society, such as housing and places of public accommodation. As a result, LGBTQ individuals currently have limited recourse under federal law when they face discrimination in many contexts.

The letter sent to the Senate on June 23 notes that the act is needed to address the long history of discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in the United States and provide critical civil rights protections for LGBTQ individuals who continue to face discrimination in their daily lives.

In recent surveys, 44 percent of transgender Americans reported having been denied equal treatment or service at least once in a place of public accommodation; 25 percent of transgender Americans reported having experienced housing discrimination based on their gender identity; 71 percent of LGBTQ youth reported experiencing discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity in 2019; and 36 percent of LGBTQ individuals reported experiencing harassment or discrimination in the workplace in 2020.

In addition to codifying protections from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, the Equality Act would modernize the definition of “public accommodations,” where Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies, to include places or establishments that provide exhibitions, recreation, exercise, amusement, public gatherings or displays; goods, services or programs; and transportation services.

The letter from the attorneys general emphasizes that enacting these nondiscrimination protections legislatively is critical to insulate them from changes in the courts or the executive branch that could undermine them if not secured through legislation.

  Gurbir Grewal, LGBTQ, New Jersey Division on Civil Rights