Pennsylvania Law Creates New Regulations to Protect Against Discrimination

The new regulations outlined new definitions for race, religious creed, and orientation

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Traits commonly associated with race such as hair texture and hairstyles are just some of the enhanced provisions of Pennsylvania’s newly invigorated anti-discrimination law.

The new guidelines set by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission more clearly define the legal scopes of sexual and gender orientation, religious creed and race under the law.

The new regulations also expand and clarify the protected class of “sex” to include pregnancy status, childbirth status, breastfeeding status, sex assigned at birth, gender identity or expression, affectional or sexual orientation, and differences in sex development.

“These regulations now more clearly state what was already a fact, all discrimination in Pennsylvania is illegal,” said PHRC chair M. Joel Bolstein. “The PHRC wants our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and friends and neighbors to know that Pennsylvania is a safe, accepting, and welcoming place for you and everyone. It has been a long journey to get here, and I am proud of the hard work and dedication of the PHRC staff.”

The regulations more clearly define “religious creed” to include all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as belief.

“Too often we hear of cases where people are discriminated against because of who they love, what religion they practice, what they look like, or how they wear their hair,” said Chad Dion Lassiter, executive director of the commission. “The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission protects all commonwealth citizens from any form of discrimination and these regulations affirm that commitment. Our team worked hard to put together these regulations and we are pleased they are now effective.”

Pennsylvania law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, age (40 and over), sex, ancestry, national origin, religion, familial status (only in housing), disability; and use, handling, or training of service animals for a disability, and retaliation.

The commission also enforces the Pennsylvania Fair Education Opportunities Act, which is specific to postsecondary education and secondary vocational and trade schools.

The expanded guidelines were approved by the Independent Regulatory Review Commission in 2022; the regulations were then approved by the state Office of Attorney General in June 2023.

The LGBTQ community also got enhanced protection this week in one central Pennsylvania municipality.

The York City Council on Tuesday night voted to ban conversion therapy for minors within the city, the York Dispatch reported. Conversion therapy has been widely discredited by the medical community.

In a 3-1 vote, City Council approved an ordinance that prohibits licensed medical professionals from subjecting LGBTQ youth to conversion therapy, which has been shown to be dangerous

“Every young person deserves to be loved and respected for who they are, no matter who they love or where they live,” said Tanner Mobley, a spokesperson for The Trevor Project. “We applaud the leaders of York for coming together and taking action to protect LGBTQ youth in their communities from the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion ‘therapy.’”

At least 73 of Pennsylvania’s 2,560 municipalities have passed LGBTQ-inclusive local nondiscrimination ordinances. According to the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, an advocacy group, the Commonwealth leads other states with the most number of LGBTQ-inclusive local nondiscrimination ordinances but have yet to adopt a comprehensive statewide law.

Proponents of conversion therapy believe a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed with therapy. The practice has been widely discredited by medical groups, including the American Psychological Association, which notes that the discredited practice may lead to adverse health consequences, including depression, anxiety and suicide.

“Our research at The Trevor Project shows how harmful and terrible these practices are: LGBTQ young people who have been threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy report more than twice the rate of attempting suicide in the past year than those who have not,” Mobley said. “Conversion therapy has no place anywhere — and we urge leaders to take up the torch and swiftly enact this type of protection across the entire state.”