S 1631 New Jersey Senate · 2026-2027 Regular Session

Prohibits discrimination on basis of height or weight under "Law Against Discrimination."

New Jersey's S 1631 adds height and weight to the list of protected characteristics under the state's Law Against Discrimination. It makes it illegal for employers, public accommodations (like restaurants and stores), and housing providers to discriminate based on these factors. The bill amends existing law to include "height or weight" alongside categories like race, disability, and gender identity in all relevant sections. Enforcement will continue through the Division on Civil Rights, which handles complaints about discrimination.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Feb 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

General Assembly Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 13, 2026 Last action Feb 24, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Technical Review Of Prefiled Bill → Introduced · 4 edits · Jan 13, 2026

MODERATE

This is a transition from the technical review stage to the introduced version of S 1631, which prohibits discrimination based on height or weight under New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination. The substantive policy text is essentially unchanged; the differences are procedural (removal of co-sponsor Senator Timberlake, status update), minor punctuation corrections, and the addition of a formal statement explaining the bill's purpose and its model in Michigan law.

SCOPE

Senator Timberlake was removed as a co-sponsor; only Senator Ruiz remains listed.

A formal STATEMENT section was added at the end explaining that the bill prohibits height or weight discrimination in employment, education, housing, public accommodations, and public service, is modeled after Michigan's civil rights law, and includes exceptions for bona fide occupational qualifications and safety reasons.

TECHNICAL

The bill status changed from 'As reported by the Senate Labor Committee with technical review' to 'Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel,' reflecting its new procedural stage.

Several minor punctuation corrections were made throughout, including comma placement around bracketed amendment markers and removal of a comma in the list of protected characteristics.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Feb 24, 2026

Committee

Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by the Senate (24-14)

upper

Jan 13, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Labor Committee

upper

2 primary · 2 co-sponsors