If you believe that you have been the victim of discrimination in
employment, housing, public accommodations, health services or state contracts because of your
race, color, religion or creed, sex, age, ancestry or national origin, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information (employment only), and/or familial status (housing only),
and/or source of income (housing only), the first step is to file a complaint of discrimination with the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights investigates complaints from anyone who reasonably believes they have been discriminated against. The Commission may also initiate a complaint based on reliable information that any person or business is or has been engaged in a discriminatory practice. Any person may visit any Maryland Commission on Civil Rights office to file a complaint.
Complaints of employment must be filed within 300 days of the alleged unlawful incident, complaints of housing discrimination must be filed within one year of the alleged unlawful incident, and complaints of public accommodations discrimination must be filed within six (6) months of the alleged unlawful incident.
Note: Maryland employment anti-discrimination law applies only to those employers with 15 or more employees. However, complaints alleging unlawful employment harassment can be filed against employers with 1 or more employee.
If you believe you are a victim of unlawful discrimination, the first step to filing a complaint is to initiate an online inquiry using the form below. The completion of this online form does not constitute the filing of a complaint of discrimination with the Commission pursuant to Title 20 of the State Government Article, Annotate Code of Maryland.
After you complete this online form, the Intake Unit will contact you to schedule an interview (either by phone or in-person) with one of our trained Intake Officers to complete the process. You must complete the interview, and sign and return any and all necessary documents (including the Charge of Discrimination) to the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights before the complaint is officially filed.
Click here to file the Preliminary Discrimination Questionnaire
