If You Face Discrimination: Work, Housing and Public Places

What New Hampshire's Law Against Discrimination protects at work, in renting or buying a home, and in stores, restaurants and other places open to the public, and how to file a complaint with the Commission for Human Rights.

Checked against its sources October 12, 2026.

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At a Glance

New Hampshire law forbids discrimination because of your age, sex, gender identity, race, creed, color, marital status, physical or mental disability, national origin or sexual orientation: at work and when you apply for a job, when you rent or buy a home, and in places open to the public. In housing, it also protects families with a child under 18 living with them. And no one may fire, expel or otherwise punish you for opposing discrimination, filing a complaint, or testifying or helping in a case about it. If it happens to you, you can file a written complaint with the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights within 180 days.

  1. Where did it happen?

    • At work, or applying for a jobAn employer with 6 or more employees is covered, and so are the state and every town.
    • Renting or buying a homeLandlords, sellers and agents are covered, with a few exceptions.
    • A store, restaurant, hotel or other place open to the publicEvery place that serves the public is covered, except a private club.
  2. Write down what happened, when, and who was there. Keep any letters, messages or notices.
  3. File a complaint with the Commission for Human Rights within 180 days.
  4. The Commission investigates, and tries to settle it. You may go to court instead, within the limits the law sets.

Step by Step

What the law protects

  1. Know what the law protects

    New Hampshire’s Law Against Discrimination protects you from being treated differently because of your age, sex, gender identity, race, creed, color, marital status, physical or mental disability, national origin or sexual orientation. In housing it also protects familial status: having a child under 18 living with you.

    • Sexual harassment, such as unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors, is discrimination because of sex.
    • Retaliation is against the law: no one may fire, expel or otherwise punish you because you opposed discrimination, filed a complaint, or testified or helped in a case.

    The law: RSA 354-A:1, RSA 354-A:7, RSA 354-A:19

  2. At work

    An employer may not refuse to hire you, fire you, or treat you differently in pay or in the terms of your job because of any of the reasons above, unless the reason is a genuine requirement of the job. Job advertisements and applications may not state such a preference.

    The law: RSA 354-A:2, RSA 354-A:6, RSA 354-A:7

  3. Renting or buying a home

    No one may refuse to rent or sell to you, offer you different terms, tell you a home is not available when it is, or advertise a preference, because of any of the reasons above or because you have children under 18.

    The law: RSA 354-A:8, RSA 354-A:10, RSA 354-A:15

  4. Stores, restaurants and other places open to the public

    A place of public accommodation is any place that offers its goods or services to the public: a store, a restaurant, a hotel, a theater, a barbershop, a health care provider, a bus, and many more. It may not refuse you service, or treat you differently, because of any of the reasons above, or post a notice that some people are unwelcome. A club that is distinctly private is not covered.

    The law: RSA 354-A:2, RSA 354-A:16, RSA 354-A:17

Making a complaint

  1. File a complaint with the Commission for Human Rights

    The New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights takes complaints of discrimination. Your complaint is in writing and signed, names who discriminated against you, and says what happened. File it within 180 days of the act. Write things down as they happen, and keep any letters, emails, texts or notices.

    The Commission also takes complaints of discrimination in K-12 public schools, and offers mediation. Submit a complaint from its website, or call (603) 271-2767, Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM; its office is at 57 Regional Drive, Suite 8, in Concord.

    A commissioner investigates, with the Commission’s staff, and encourages both sides to settle. If the commissioner finds no probable cause, the complaint is dismissed, and you can appeal to the Superior Court. If there is probable cause and it is not settled, a hearing may be held before 3 commissioners, who can order the discrimination to stop and order hiring, reinstatement, back pay and damages. You have 30 days after the Commission’s order is served to ask the Superior Court to review it.

    Commission for Human RightsFile a federal charge (EEOC)

    The law: RSA 354-A:5, RSA 354-A:21, RSA 354-A:22

  2. Or take it to court

    Instead of waiting for the Commission to decide, you may sue in the Superior Court of your county, or of the county where it happened: once your complaint has been at the Commission for 180 days, or sooner if the Commission agrees in writing, and no later than 3 years after the discrimination. Either side may ask for a jury. If you go to court, you cannot bring the same complaint back to the Commission, and you cannot go to court once a Commission hearing has begun.

    These deadlines are strict, and the choices between the Commission and the court are hard to undo. A lawyer can advise you on your own case (below).

    The law: RSA 354-A:21-a

Common Questions

Does the law cover pregnancy?

Discrimination because of sex includes pregnancy. An employer must give a leave of absence for a disability caused by pregnancy or childbirth, and hold your job or a comparable one for your return unless business necessity makes that impossible or unreasonable.

Must an employer adjust my job for a disability?

An employer must make reasonable accommodations for a qualified employee or applicant with a disability, such as a changed schedule or equipment, unless doing so would be an undue hardship.

Which employers does the law cover?

The law covers employers with 6 or more employees, and the state and its cities, towns, boards and departments. It does not cover a nonprofit social club, or a nonprofit fraternal or religious organization, as an employer, or work for your own parent, spouse or child, or in someone’s home as a domestic worker.

Are there exceptions in housing?

There are a few exceptions. They include renting a unit in a building of no more than 4 units where the owner lives in one of them, renting a room in the owner’s own home, and some sales of a single-family home by its owner without a real estate agent.

Can I file with the federal government too?

At work, federal law protects you too. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says that where a state agency enforces a law like this one, its own deadline is extended to 300 days, and that a charge filed with a state agency that works with it can be filed with both at once. Tell the Commission if you want yours filed with the federal agency as well.

Who Can Help

The Commission for Human Rights can tell you how to file a complaint. For advice on your own case, talk to a lawyer:

  • The New Hampshire Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral Service refers you to a lawyer who handles your kind of problem, for an administrative fee. Call 603-229-0002, weekdays 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM, or ask online.

Lawyer Referral Service

In the Record

Chapter 354-A: State Commission for Human Rights

Laws that changed it, newest first:

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See Also

Where This Comes From