Legal Protections for Military Families

States can protect military families from discrimination in public accommodations, employment and housing by uniformly adding military family status to the list of protected classes across all antidiscrimination statutes in the state.

While service members are legally protected in some ways (e.g., housing and employment), their spouses and children may be less protected, particularly in the areas of education and employment. Protected class status may alleviate difficulties, or at least increase service members’ perception of security, when facing military-related challenges, particularly during a PCS.