New Jersey Prohibits Gender-Specific Dress Codes

New Jersey’s Office of the Attorney General and the Division of Civil Rights have made clear the state prohibits gender-specific dress codes.

The Details

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) prohibits New Jersey employers from discriminating against employees based on certain protected characteristics (actual or perceived), such as age, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression and disability.

The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the New Jersey Division of Civil Rights (DCR) announced that gender-specific dress codes are considered a violation of the NJLAD on the basis that gender-specific dress codes discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals.

Background

In 2023, a restaurant refused service to a non-binary patron because the staff believed the patron did not comply with the restaurant’s gender-binary dress code, which prohibited men from wearing sleeveless shirts (similar dress restrictions were not imposed on women).

Although the patron previously informed staff that they were non-binary, the restaurant insisted that the patron adhere to the restaurant’s rules for men’s clothing.

The DCR found that the restaurant had violated the NJLAD and required the restaurant to:

• Adopt a gender-neutral dress code for customers and employees in all New Jersey locals.
• Provide training to all owners, managers, patrons, and employees on the NJLAD, LGBTQ+ discrimination prevention and the new gender-neutral dress code;
  
  
• Pay applicable penalties and refrain from:
  

Next steps

Review dress code policies for customers and employees to ensure that they are gender-neutral and do not have a disparate impact on a protected class under the NJLAD.