The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) recently filed a lawsuit in the U.S. district court for the district of New Jersey challenging the disparate impact rules adopted by the state.
In December 2025, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (DCR) adopted Rules Pertaining to Disparate Impact Discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. In a press release announcing the adoption of the Rules, then New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the DCR stated that the “DCR has adopted landmark new rules that codify the prohibition against disparate impact discrimination under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), the oldest and strongest state civil rights law in the country.” In addition to housing financial assistance, the Rules apply to employment, housing, places of public accommodation, and contracting. In connection with housing financial assistance, the LAD prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry,