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You Have Rights

Legal Rights for Immigrant and Religious Communities and Communities of Color in NYC.

You do have the right

Learn how to contact the Commission when you experience discrimination by downloading our resource list.

About the Campaign

The NYC Commission on Human Rights launched this citywide anti-discrimination campaign to affirm New Yorker's right to live, work, and pray free from discrimination and harassment. The campaign, which included ads, PSA videos, and community events, follows a significant increase in reports of discrimination and bias incidents in NYC to the NYC Commission on Human Rights.

  • The Commission saw a 60 percent increase in overall reports of discrimination and bias incidents in 2016, a trend that continued into 2017.
  • Reports of discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and immigration status increased by 30 percent in 2016.
  • The Commission in 2017 investigated over 30 percent more complaints of discrimination than the same time last year, with more than 1,600 open cases of discrimination in May 2017 (launch date of this campaign) compared to 1,200 in May 2016.
  • More than 40 percent of all open cases at the Commission (more than 700 cases) involve discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and immigration status.
  • In fact, the Commission more than doubled the number of investigations into race, religion, national origin, and immigration status over the last two years, filing 823 complaints in those areas in 2016 and 2015 combined compared to 418 complaints in 2014 and 2013 combined.

Every New Yorker has the right to live free from discrimination and harassment. The NYC Human Rights Law, enforced by the NYC Commission on Human Rights, is one of the strongest anti-discrimination laws in the country, and protects you from discrimination based on race, color, religion, immigration status, national origin, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, among other protected categories.

In this city, you have the right to file a complaint with the Commission when you feel you have experienced discrimination. If you feel you have been discriminated against, take action. Contact the NYC Commission on Human Rights at (212) 416-0197 or visit your local Community Service Center.

In the News

Publications & Materials

Videos



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I should have the right to be who I am, without being worried for my own safety.
I should have the right to speak to my kids in Spanish, without someone telling me to speak English.
I should have the right to rent an available apartment, without being told it's not available to me.


I should have the right to take pride in my heritage, without being told to go back to my country.
I should have the right to wear what my faith calls for, without being called a threat.
I should have the right to get a job, without being denied because of my skin tone or name.


Debería tener el derecho de hablarle a mis hijos en espa&ntile;ol sin que me digan que debo hablarles en inglés