Indiana Discrimination Laws: Protected Classes, Filing, and Remedies

Indiana’s discrimination laws prohibit unequal treatment in employment, housing, and public accommodations based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, and ancestry, with familial status added for housing. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission (ICRC) enforces these protections, and the state employment rules apply to employers with as few as six workers. Federal law fills several gaps the state law leaves open.

Who Is Protected

The Indiana Civil Rights Law, at Indiana Code Title 22, Article 9, Chapter 1, declares a public policy of equal opportunity in education, employment, public accommodations, and housing regardless of race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, or ancestry.¹ Those seven characteristics form the protected classes under the general state statute.

Indiana’s fair housing law, codified separately at IC 22-9.5, adds familial status for housing-related discrimination. Familial status covers people who are pregnant, living with a child under 18, or in the process of obtaining legal custody of a minor.²

Two categories are absent from the state list. Sexual orientation and gender identity are not named as protected classes under Indiana’s civil rights law. Workers who face that kind of discrimination rely on federal protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which held that firing someone for being gay or transgender is sex discrimination.³ Title VII covers only employers with 15 or more employees, so workers at smaller Indiana employers have no clear legal remedy for orientation- or identity-based discrimination at either level. Age is also missing from the state list; workers 40 and older must look to the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which applies to employers with 20 or more employees.⁴

Which Employers Are Covered

The state employment rules apply to employers with six or more employees, including state and local government. Three categories are exempt:¹

Nonprofit organizations organized exclusively for religious or fraternal purposes.
Schools, educational institutions, and charitable organizations owned, conducted by, or affiliated with a church or religious institution.
Exclusively social clubs, corporations, or associations not organized for profit.

The exemptions are limited to those categories. A for-profit business owned by a religious individual does not qualify simply because the owner holds religious convictions.

What Counts as Discrimination

In Employment

Covered employers cannot exclude someone from equal opportunities in hiring, firing, promotions, compensation, or the terms and conditions of work because of a protected characteristic.¹ Job advertisements cannot express preferences or limitations tied to those characteristics. Labor organizations cannot exclude members on protected grounds, and employment agencies cannot honor discriminatory requests from the employers they serve.

Harassment fits under the same statute when it is severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of someone’s employment. A single offhand remark usually will not meet that threshold; a pattern of slurs, unwanted touching, or threats can. An employer can be liable when harassment reaches that level or when the conduct is reported to management and the employer fails to take prompt, effective action.

In Housing

The Indiana fair housing law tracks the federal Fair Housing Act and reaches race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability, and national origin. Prohibited conduct includes refusing to sell or rent after a legitimate offer, imposing different terms based on a protected characteristic, misrepresenting that a unit is unavailable, and steering buyers or renters toward particular neighborhoods.⁵

Advertising rules are strict. Any notice, statement, or advertisement related to the sale or rental of a dwelling that signals a preference, limitation, or intention to discriminate based on a protected class violates Indiana law.⁶ Phrasing like “ideal for young professionals” or “no children” in a listing can trigger a complaint.

In Public Accommodations

Businesses and facilities open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, theaters, and retail stores, must provide equal access and services regardless of race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, or ancestry. The ICRC handles these complaints as it does employment and housing.

Retaliation Is Separately Illegal

Indiana law prohibits retaliation against anyone who files a discrimination complaint, testifies at a hearing, or assists an ICRC investigation. The statute directs the commission to prevent any employer or other person from firing, expelling, or otherwise punishing someone for participating in the complaint process.⁷

Retaliation claims are often easier to prove than the underlying discrimination. Report harassment, then get moved to a worse shift or denied a promotion soon after, and the timing itself can be evidence. Federal law provides parallel retaliation protections. Under Burlington Northern v. White (2006), any action that would discourage a reasonable person from making a complaint counts as retaliation.⁸

How to File a Complaint

Deadlines depend on the type of claim. Employment complaints must be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory act. Housing complaints have a one-year window.⁹ Missing the deadline forfeits the right to pursue a state-level claim, so file promptly even while still gathering evidence.

You can file with the ICRC online, by phone, by email, or in person at ICRC offices or events.⁹ The commission offers free, voluntary mediation early in the process; many cases resolve there. If mediation fails or is declined, ICRC staff investigate by interviewing the parties, requesting documents, speaking with witnesses, and sometimes conducting site visits. The commission then issues a written determination on whether discrimination occurred, and if it finds probable cause, the case can proceed to a hearing where the commission can issue binding orders.

Filing with the ICRC also protects any parallel federal claim. The EEOC and the ICRC operate under a worksharing agreement, so filing with one automatically triggers a dual filing with the other. If the ICRC resolves the case and you disagree with the outcome, you can request an EEOC review in writing within 15 days of receiving the determination.¹⁰

What You Can Recover

Remedies split sharply between employment and housing, and the difference catches many complainants off guard.

Employment

When the ICRC finds an employer engaged in a discriminatory practice, it can order the employer to stop and take corrective action. Restoration to the complainant is available, but the statute explicitly limits it in employment cases to wages, salary, or commissions. Emotional distress damages and punitive damages are not available under the state civil rights law for employment claims. The commission can also require the employer to post notices about Indiana’s civil rights policy, submit periodic proof of compliance, and, if the employer holds a state license, show cause to the licensing agency why the license should not be revoked or suspended.⁷

That limited remedy structure is why many employment claims in Indiana are pursued under federal law instead. Federal law allows compensatory and punitive damages, subject to caps based on employer size ranging from $50,000 for employers with 15 to 100 employees up to $300,000 for employers with more than 500.¹¹

Housing

Housing discrimination carries stiffer consequences. The ICRC can order actual damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, and injunctive relief, and can impose civil penalties on top of that:¹²

Up to $10,000 for a first violation.
Up to $25,000 with one prior violation within five years.
Up to $50,000 with two or more prior violations within seven years.

If the same individual commits repeated violations, the higher penalties can apply regardless of the time windows, and the commission can sue to collect unpaid civil penalties.¹²

Taking a Case to Court

Indiana law also gives complainants a path to court. Under IC 22-9-1-17, a complainant who makes a timely election can file a civil action in a circuit or superior court in the county where the discrimination occurred. If the court finds discrimination, it can grant the same relief available through the ICRC. One limitation to plan around: these civil actions are tried by the court without a jury.¹³

Judicial review of ICRC orders runs on a tight clock. A party who disagrees with a cease-and-desist order or other ICRC action must seek review within 30 days of receiving notice. If no one seeks review in that window, the order becomes enforceable, and the ICRC can petition a court to enforce it.⁷

Federal Protections Worth Knowing

Beyond covering orientation, identity, and age, federal law adds protections the state statute does not. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires covered employers (those with 15 or more employees) to provide reasonable accommodations for limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would cause undue hardship. Accommodations can include more frequent breaks, schedule adjustments, temporary reassignment, or light duty, and employers cannot force a pregnant worker to take leave when another reasonable accommodation would let them keep working.¹⁴

For many Indiana workers, pursuing a federal claim alongside or instead of a state claim makes strategic sense: broader protected classes, wider remedies, and jury trials in some circumstances. The tradeoff is a higher employer-size threshold. Title VII and the ADA require 15 employees and the ADEA requires 20, compared to Indiana’s threshold of six.

1
Indiana.gov. Indiana Code 22-9 – Civil Rights Enforcement
2
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-9.5-1-2 – Discriminatory Act Committed Because of Familial Status
3
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
4
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
5
Justia. Indiana Code 22-9.5-5 – Discrimination Prohibited
6
Justia. Indiana Administrative Code 910 IAC 2-2-1 – Real Estate Practices Prohibited
7
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-9-1-6 – Civil Rights Commission Powers and Duties
8
Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Retaliation – Whistleblower Protection Program
9
Indiana.gov. ICRC Enforcement
10
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Fair Employment Practices Agencies (FEPAs) and Dual Filing
11
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Remedies For Employment Discrimination
12
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-9.5-6-15 – Determination at Hearing That Respondent Has Engaged in Discriminatory Housing Practice
13
Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 22-9-1-17 – Filing of Civil Action; Relief; Trial by Court
14
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act