State Civil Rights Departments
Every U.S. state, including the District of Columbia, has an agency responsible for enforcing civil rights laws and investigating discrimination complaints. These agencies operate under various names.
Below is a list of each state’s primary civil rights department or enforcement office:
- Alabama: Office of Equal Employment & Civil Rights
- Alaska: State Commission for Human Rights
- Arizona: Civil Rights Division
- Arkansas: Fair Housing Commission
- California: Civil Rights Department
- Colorado: Department of Regulatory Agencies’ Civil Rights Division
- Connecticut: Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities
- Delaware: Division of Human Relations
- District of Columbia: Office of Human Rights
- Georgia: Commission on Equal Opportunity
- Hawaii: Civil Rights Commission
- Idaho: Commission on Human Rights
- Illinois: Department of Human Rights
- Indiana: Civil Rights Commission
- Iowa: Civil Rights Commission
- Kansas: Human Rights Commission
- Kentucky: Commission on Human Rights
- Louisiana: Commission of Human Rights
- Maine: Human Rights Commission
- Ohio: Ohio Civil Rights Commission
- Oklahoma: Office of Civil Rights Enforcement
- Oregon: Oregon Civil Rights Division
- Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
- Rhode Island: Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights
- South Carolina: South Carolina Human Affairs Commission
- South Dakota: South Dakota Division of Human Rights
- Tennessee: Tennessee Human Rights Commission
- Texas: Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division
- Utah: Utah Anti-Discrimination and Labor Division
- Vermont: Vermont Human Rights Commission
- Virginia: Virginia Office of Civil Rights
- Washington: Washington State Human Rights Commission
- West Virginia: West Virginia Human Rights Commission
- Wisconsin: Wisconsin Equal Rights Division
- Wyoming: Wyoming Department of Workforce Services – Labor Rights
If you believe your civil rights have been violated, you can also contact the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, or other relevant federal agencies, such as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (for employment issues) or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (for housing issues).