Your Civil Rights

Employees and job applicants have the right to a workplace free from discrimination. Employers, labor unions, and employment agencies are prohibited from making hiring, firing, promotion, or compensation decisions based on protected class status.

Examples:

An employer terminates an employee after the employee announces their pregnancy (sex).

A company promotes younger employees but passes over older employees despite equal or better qualifications (age).

An employer denies a reasonable accommodation request for a person with disabilities, stating they cannot provide the accommodation for all employees so they cannot provide the accommodation only to the employee with a disability(disability).

An employer won’t hire a person because they have an accent (national origin). 

Housing discrimination is prohibited in the City of Saint Paul. It is unlawful to refuse to sell, rent, lease, or negotiate housing terms based on a person’s protected class. This applies to landlords, property sellers, real estate agents, lenders and other housing providers.

Examples:

A landlord refuses to rent to a qualified applicant because she is a single mother (familial status and marital status).

A tenant is evicted after refusing a caretaker’s sexual advances (sex-sexual harassment)

A landlord rescinds an offer for an apartment after learning the prospective tenant plans to pay their security deposit through a rental assistance program (status with regard to public assistance). 

It is unlawful for businesses in the City of Saint Paul that provide goods, services, or facilities and are open to the public to discriminate against a person based on their protected class. This includes restaurants, hotels, retail stores, transportation services, and any other businesses open to the public. 

Examples:

A coffee shop denies entry to a teenager with autism because of behavioral assumptions (disability).

A hotel refuses a room to a same sex couple despite advertising vacancies (sexual or affectional orientation).

A retail store does not allow a customer inside the store because they are dressed in accordance with their gender identity, rather than their sex assigned at birth (sex-gender identity).

In the City of Saint Paul, it is unlawful to retaliate against a person for reporting discrimination, filing a complaint, or participating in an investigation. This protection also extends to those who associate with individuals in different protected classes. Retaliation can include termination, demotion, harassment, or other negative actions.

Examples:

An employee is demoted after requesting an accommodation based on their deeply held morals and beliefs (reprisal-opposition based on creed)

A tenant is given a lease termination after they have guests who are of a different race (reprisal-association based on race)

A student is suspended after testifying in a discrimination investigation regarding color-based harassment at school. (reprisal-opposition)

An employee is terminated after they report their supervisor to HR for making offensive comments about their religion (reprisal- opposition). 

Students in the City of Saint Paul have the right to an education free from discrimination. Schools cannot deny access, benefits, or services based on a student’s protected status.

Examples:

A student is denied access to an honors program because they are descended from a specific Native American tribe (ancestry).

A school disproportionately gives more suspensions to Black students compared to white students (race).

A school does not take appropriate action after a student reports that a professor repeatedly sexually harassed them (sex-sexual harassment)

It is unlawful to deny or restrict access to public services provided by the City of Saint Paul based on a person’s membership in a protected class.

Examples:

A city office refuses to provide translation assistance to a community member for a critical city service (national origin).

A fire department delays response to a home because it is in a predominantly Native American neighborhood (race).

A city park refuses to consider a reasonable accommodation request  from a person with a disability to modify a playground. (Disability) 

In the City of Saint Paul, it is discriminatory to refuse to do business with someone because they belong to a protected class.

Examples:

• An event planning company refuses to contract with a couple because they are in a same-sex relationship (sexual and affectional orientation).

• A landscaping company imposes different contract requirements on vendors who are Somali (national origin).

• A construction company avoids hiring subcontractors who identify as nonbinary (sex-gender identity). 

In the City Saint Paul, businesses and financial institutions cannot discriminate in the extension of personal or commercial credit. This includes denying credit, applying different terms, or refusing to issue a credit card based on a person’s protected class status.

Examples:

• A credit union denies a loan to a widow because they only provide loans to married couples (marital status).

• A department store declines to issue a store credit card to a person because of their age, despite having good credit (age).

• A bank offers less favorable loan terms to applicants who are Muslim (religion).

Age discrimination is treating a person less favorably because of their age. This protection applies to individuals aged 18 or older.

Ancestry discrimination is treating a person less favorably because of the actual or perceived country, nation, tribe, or other identifiable group of people they are descended from.

Color discrimination is treating a person less favorably for their skin complexion, shade, or tone. Race and color discrimination can overlap but are not the same. 

Creed discrimination is treating a person less favorably because of their actual or perceived moral, ethical, or deeply held beliefs. This includes belief systems that may not be expressed by an organized religious group.

Disability discrimination is treating a person with a disability less favorably. Disability includes physical, sensory, or mental impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities, as well as people who are perceived to have a disability or have a history of one.

Familial status discrimination is treating a person less favorably due to their familial status. Familial status covers people who are pregnant, living with minor children, or in the process of obtaining custody of a minor. 

Marital status discrimination is treating a person less favorably based on their status as single, married, remarried, divorced, separated, or a surviving spouse. In allegations of employment marital status discrimination, an employee is also protected against discrimination based on a spouse's or former spouse's identity, situation, actions, or beliefs. 

National origin discrimination is treating a person less favorably because they are from a particular country or part of the world, because of ethnicity or accent, or because they appear to be of a certain ethnic background (even if they are not), or because they are an individual with limited English proficiency. 

Race discrimination is treating a person less favorably because they are of a certain race or because of their characteristics associated with race, such as hair texture, skin color, or certain facial features. 

Sex discrimination is treating a person less favorably because of their sex. Sex includes but is not limited to gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, disabilities related to pregnancy or childbirth, and sexual harassment.  

Gender identity is a person's actual or perceived self-image or identity as expressed through dress, appearance, behavior, speech, or similar characteristics, whether or not traditionally associated with the person's physical anatomy, chromosomal sex, or sex assigned at birth. 

Sexual harassment is unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical contact, or other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature. 

Sexual or affectional orientation discrimination is treating a person less favorably because of who someone is, or is perceived of as being, emotionally, physically, or sexually attracted to, based on sex or gender identity.  

Status with regard to public assistance discrimination is treating a recipient of federal, state, or local assistance less favorably. This includes medical assistance and tenants receiving federal, state, or local subsidies, including rental assistance or rent supplements.