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Hi my name is Kevin Lindsey. I am the Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights.
I want to take a moment and just explain to you a new law which came into effect on Mother's
Day of this year and that is the expansion of the Human Rights Act to cover familial
status. Previously, familial status was limited only in the housing context and that meant
that someone who was living with a minor child or who is pregnant could not be denied housing
on the basis of familial status; the fact that they were pregnant of had a minor child,
landlords were prohibited from treating them differently than any other type of tenant.
Now with the passage of the Women's Economic Security Act, those same individuals will
now have protection under employment law in the state of Minnesota, meaning that an employer
cannot treat them any differently on the basis of the fact that they are pregnant or that
they have a minor child living at home with them. Again, this new law went into effect
on Mother's Day of this year. Anyone who is aggrieved who feels that they have been treated
differently on the basis of familial status can file a charge or speak with someone at
the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, and below you can see how you can contact
the Department of Human Rights. Thank you.