New York Prohibits Discrimination Based on Gender Identity or Expression

New York recently amended its anti-discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression in a variety of contexts, including housing and lending. 

Specifically, the amendments now add gender identity or expression to the list of protected classes, which already included race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, age, sex, marital status, disability, and familial status.  Under the amendments, gender identity or expression is defined as a “person’s actual or perceived gender-related identity, appearance, behavior, expression, or other gender-related characteristic regardless of the sex assigned to that person at birth, including, but not limited to, the status of being transgender.”  Thus, it is unlawful in New York to discriminate against a person because of the person’s gender identity or expression in, among other things, the ownership, use, and occupancy of housing accommodations, commercial space, and land, as well as in the purchase, rental, or leasing of housing accommodations, commercial space, and land.  New York also prohibits discrimination in the granting, withholding, extending, or renewing of any form of credit, including in the fixing of rates or setting of terms and conditions, because of a person’s gender identity or expression.

The amendments went into effect February 24, 2019.