State workplace discrimination laws

Many states have local state laws that make workplace discrimination illegal. These laws complement the federal anti-discrimination law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964).

The federal level Title VII places anti-discriminatory requirements against private employers who employ at least 15 people, so it doesn’t cover smaller employers.

Many times however, state level anti-discrimination laws lower this number considerably. This means that in many states, local law that prohibits discrimination at the workplace applies to smaller employers as well.

State workplace discrimination laws and the number of employees to be enforceable

All but 3 states have local anti-discrimination laws. Have a look at the table below to see which states have passed relevant legislation, as well as how the local law affects the minimum number of employees that must be employed at a company, for the law to have effect.

State	Local anti discrimination law	Minimum number of employees to file a claim
Alabama	No	N/A
Alaska	Yes	2 employees
Arizona	Yes	15 employees to file a claim, except for sexual harassment, which has no minimum
Arkansas	No	N/A
California	Yes	5 employees to file a claim, except for sexual harassment, which has no minimum
Colorado	Yes	No employee minimum
Connecticut	Yes	3 employees
Delaware	Yes	4 employees to file a claim, except for disability cases, which has 15 employee minimum
District of Columbia	Yes	No employee minimum
Florida	Yes	15 employees, including age discrimination
Georgia	No	N/A
Hawaii	Yes	No employee minimum
Idaho	Yes	5 employees
Illinois	Yes	15 employees, except in cases of sexual harassment, physical or mental handicap discrimination and retaliation, which have no minimum
Indiana	Yes	6 employees
Iowa	Yes	4 employees
Kansas	Yes	5 employees
Kentucky	Yes	8 employees
Louisiana	Yes	Federal law of 15 employees supersedes local law, which would make 20 employee minimum
Maine	Yes	No employee minimum
Maryland	Yes	Minimum number varies by county
Massachusetts	Yes	6 employees
Michigan	Yes	No employee minimum
Minnesota	Yes	No employee minimum
Mississippi	No	N/A
Missouri	Yes	6 employees
Montana	Yes	No employee minimum
Nebraska	Yes	15 employees, same as federal law
Nevada	Yes	15 employees, same as federal law
New Hampshire	Yes	6 employees
New Jersey	Yes	No employee minimum
New Mexico	Yes	4 employees
New York	Yes	4 employees
North Carolina	Yes	Federal law supersedes local law, so 15 employee minimum. Public policy claims have no minimum.
North Dakota	Yes	No employee minimum
Ohio	Yes	4 employees. Public policy claims have no minimum.
Oklahoma	Yes	15 employees
Oregon	Yes	No employee minimum
Pennsylvania	Yes	4 employees
Rhode Island	Yes	4 employees
South Carolina	Yes	15 employees
South Dakota	Yes	No employee minimum
Tennessee	Yes	8 employees
Texas	Yes	15 employees
Utah	Yes	15 employees, including age discrimination claims
Vermont	Yes	No employee minimum
Virginia	Yes	6 employees
Washington	Yes	8 employees. Wage discrimination claims have no minimum.
West Virginia	Yes	15 employees. Public policy claims have no minimum.
Wisconsin	Yes	No employee minimum
Wyoming	Yes	2 employees
Total states with exceptions	47	–