Pennsylvania Human Relations Act
Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination law — protecting people from discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodation, including by homeowners, condominium, and planned community associations.
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA), the Act of October 27, 1955, P.L. 744, No. 222, protects Pennsylvanians from discrimination because of race, color, familial status, religious creed, ancestry, handicap or disability, age, sex, national origin, or the use of a guide or support animal — in employment, housing, and public accommodation.
For associations, the housing provisions matter most: the PHRA is Pennsylvania's state-level counterpart to the federal Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. Victims of housing discrimination may file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. For related Pennsylvania statutes and agencies, see HOPB's Pennsylvania HOA laws & resources.
The PHRA is an uncodified act (its subject, Labor, was never merged into the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes), so it is cited below by the official Act section numbers used by the General Assembly — commonly compiled as 43 P.S. §§ 951–963. Each section links to the current text in the General Assembly's unconsolidated statutes.
| Short title | Section 1 |
| Findings and Declaration of Policy | Section 2 |
| Right to Freedom from Discrimination in Employment, Housing and Public Accommodation | Section 3 |
| Definitions | Section 4 |
| Unlawful Discriminatory Practices | Section 5 |
| Religious Observance; Public Employes | Section 5.1 |
| Abortion and Sterilization; Immunity from Requirement to Perform; Unlawful Discriminatory Practices | Section 5.2 |
| Prohibition of Certain Real Estate Practices | Section 5.3 |
| Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission | Section 6 |
| Powers and Duties of the Commission | Section 7 |
| Educational Program | Section 8 |
| Investigatory Hearings Relating to Racial Problems | Section 8.1 |
| Restriction on Commission Authority Over Pupil School Assignment | Section 8.2 |
| Procedure | Section 9 |
| Procedure Regarding Housing Advertisements | Section 9.1 |
| Injunctions | Section 9.2 |
| Civil Penalties | Section 9.3 |
| Enforcement and Judicial Review | Section 10 |
| Penalties | Section 11 |
| Construction and Exclusiveness of Remedy | Section 12 |
| Local Human Relations Commissions | Section 12.1 |
| Cooperation of State Agencies | Section 12.2 |
| Separability | Section 13 |