NJ Adopts Disparate Impact Rules

New Jersey’s Division on Civil Rights, under the former Attorney General, announced codification of the prohibition against disparate impact discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD).  The LAD, passed in 1945, prohibits discrimination in, in part, housing and lending, based on protected characteristics including, but not limited to: race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, disability, and affectional or sexual orientation.

The press release stated that the rules codify the existing case law, and provide clarification on practices and policies that could violate the disparate impact discrimination prohibition under the LAD.

The rules now describe: (1) disparate impact discrimination; (2) disparate impact liability; (3) the burdens of proof for disparate impact discrimination claims; and (4) evidence for disparate impact claims.

The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights also published a Disparate Impact Discrimination Claim Analysis resource that provides an overview of how disparate impact discrimination claims are analyzed.