From the N.J. Attorney General's office, Division on Civil Rights, "Guidance on the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis," released July 26:
This enforcement guidance explains how the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) will apply the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to prohibit discrimination by places of public accommodation following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis. {The purpose of this guidance document is to clarify and explain DCR's understanding of existing legal requirements in order to facilitate compliance with the LAD. This guidance document does not impose any new or additional requirements that are not included in the LAD, does not establish any rights or obligations for any person, and will not be enforced by DCR as a substitute for enforcement of the LAD. This document does not provide legal advice and should not be treated as providing legal advice. Owners of places of public accommodation and others with questions about the LAD are encouraged to speak with a qualified attorney to address their specific questions.}
The LAD prohibits places of public accommodation— that is, places open to the public—from discriminating on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, disability, and other protected characteristics. The ruling in 303 Creative does not change how the LAD applies to the vast majority of public accommodations across the State, and DCR remains firmly committed to enforcing the LAD and safeguarding the rights of all New Jerseyans.
In 303 Creative, the U.S. Supreme Court considered whether the First Amendment barred the application of a Colorado anti-discrimination statute, which prohibited places of public accommodation from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, to a web designer who intended to make customized websites for weddings but not to do so for same-sex weddings. The parties agreed that the web designer's websites were "original" and were "customized and tailored" for each customer, and that the websites the business designed were "expressive" and expressed the designer's own speech and message regarding her clients' weddings. The parties also stipulated that the web designer was willing to work with all people regardless of their protected characteristics and, in particular, would create custom graphics and websites for clients of any sexual orientation. Based on those specific facts and stipulations, the Supreme Court held that the web designer had a First Amendment right not to make her customized website designs for same-sex weddings.
