Practice Area
Civil Rights
Protecting against discrimination, retaliation, and violations of civil rights under federal and state law
Discrimination and Retaliation
Standing Up for Your Civil Rights
In His Own Words
Meet Steven Murray
A brief introduction to his civil rights practice.
Where we litigate
Five Ways Your Civil Rights are Protected
Civil Rights in Employment
Federal and Colorado law provide employees with civil rights in the workplace.
Workplace civil rights
Employees are protected from discrimination based on race, national origin, color, sex, pregnancy, disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, hairstyle and hair texture, and creed, and status as a victim of domestic abuse.
Employees have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations for pregnancy and childbirth conditions, disability, and sincerely held religious practices and observances.
Protected characteristics
Murray Law LLC: Ready to Fight for You
Your First Amendment Rights
Murray Law LLC represents individuals whose First Amendment rights to speech, association, religion, or petition have been violated by the government.
Freedom of Speech and Expression
The First Amendment protects your right to speak, protest, and express your views without government punishment. These cases turn on hard questions: whether speech is protected, and when government action crosses into retaliation or infringement of your rights. Murray Law has litigated these cases in federal court and knows how to build a successful First Amendment case.
Freedom of Association
The First Amendment protects your right to join with others for political, social, or expressive purposes. The government cannot punish you for associating with a political candidate, a religious organization, a union, a community or advocacy group, or another individual.
Freedom of Religion
The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment protects your faith and your ability to practice your religion without government interference.
Freedom to Petition the Government
The First Amendment protects your right to petition the government for redress of grievances, including the right to file a lawsuit. The government cannot punish you for raising grievances it would rather not hear.
First Amendment Retaliation
The First Amendment protects what you say, who you join, what you believe, and your right to demand answers from your government. Exercising these freedoms is not misconduct, and the government cannot treat it as grounds for punishment.
When the government retaliates against you anyway, for protected speech, association, petitioning, or religious practice, you can sue in federal or state court, without first filing with any administrative agency.
Litigated in Federal Court
Discrimination: Marketplace and Public Accommodations
Every business open to the public must serve you. Murray Law LLC represents people in Denver and throughout Colorado who face discrimination while shopping, banking, dining, or receiving services.
If you were denied service, treated differently, or harassed because of who you are, you may have a strong claim.
Common examples
- Refused Service. A store refuses to serve you or turns you away while serving everyone else.
- Followed and Watched by store employees who treat you as a suspect without cause.
- Denied Banking Services. A bank refuses to serve you or deals with you on different terms than other customers.
- Inferior Service. A restaurant makes you wait longer, seats you separately, or gives you worse service than other customers.
- Questioned or Humiliated. Staff treat you worse than other customers for no reason.
- Unequal Access. A business denies you privileges it extends to others.
- Harassment. Slurs, intimidation, or degrading treatment while attempting to do business.
When the target is Black, these cases are often called “shopping while Black” or “banking while Black” discrimination. If any of this has happened to you, you may have a valid claim under Colorado or federal law.
Colorado public accommodations law
The Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits denying any individual full and equal enjoyment of goods, services, or accommodations at any place of public accommodation based on disability; race & national origin; color, creed & ancestry; sex and sexual orientation; gender identity and gender expression; and marital status.
Covered entities include hotels, restaurants, stores, hospitals, theaters, gyms, schools, transportation carriers, and public facilities of any kind. The law also covers service businesses, professional offices, and online sellers.
Race discrimination in the marketplace
Colorado law prohibits race discrimination in the marketplace and public accommodations under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act, which covers every business open to the public. Federal law provides an additional and powerful remedy.
A Reconstruction-era federal statute protecting the right to make and enforce contracts free from racial discrimination.
It covers nearly every transaction, including purchases, loans, services, dining, and leasing, from the first conversation through the final transaction and to conduct after a sale.
You may sue directly in court without first filing with a government agency, and sue both the company and individuals personally.
There is no cap on damages.
Remedies include economic losses, emotional distress, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life.
Federal law protects access to public accommodations
Title II of the Civil Rights Act and Title III of the ADA both guarantee equal access to public accommodations, but neither provides money damages, which is why Section 1981 and Colorado law are often the stronger path for race discrimination claims.
Prohibits discrimination in places of public accommodation based on race, color, religion, and national origin.
Hotels, restaurants, theaters, and entertainment venues must serve everyone equally.
Title II does not provide money damages. A winning plaintiff can obtain an injunction and attorney's fees.
Section 1981 and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act often offer a stronger path for race discrimination claims because both allow full damages.
Prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in places of public accommodation.
Stores, restaurants, hotels, and medical offices must provide equal access and make reasonable modifications.
Private plaintiffs cannot recover money damages under Title III.
They can obtain an injunction and attorney's fees, and the Department of Justice can seek civil penalties.
Murray Law LLC: Ready to Fight For You
Murray Law LLC investigates your situation, identifies every available claim under Colorado and federal law, and fights for the remedies you deserve. We take on retailers, restaurants, banks, and any business that violated your rights. We seek compensation for the harm you suffered and work to ensure discriminatory businesses change their practices.
Protecting Students and Teachers
Schools are not exempt from the law. Steven Murray and Murray Law LLC represent students and teachers in Colorado whose civil rights have been violated.
Murray Law brings the same focused, experienced representation to every case: thorough preparation and development of the case, sound judgment, and aggressive advocacy, from the demand through negotiations, filing the lawsuit, and trial.
Students' constitutional rights
Students do not give up their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse door. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, expression, and association. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees due process and equal protection. A school cannot punish a student for peaceful expression or strip away important rights without fair procedures.
Freedom from discrimination
Students also have the right to be free from discrimination.
Prohibits race and national origin discrimination in schools receiving federal funding.
Prohibits sex discrimination and sexual harassment in educational programs.
The Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protect students with disabilities and entitle them to reasonable accommodations.
When a public school violates a student's or teacher's constitutional rights, this federal law allows them to sue in federal court and seek damages and other relief directly against those responsible.
Section 1983 reaches government actors, so it applies to public schools, not private ones.
Teachers' rights
Federal and Colorado law protect teachers at public and private schools from discrimination, retaliation, and harassment. They keep their First Amendment rights at work, including freedom of speech, association, and the right to petition the government. A school cannot discipline or terminate a teacher for speaking out as a citizen on matters of public concern.
Teachers' protected characteristics
Murray Law Fights at Every Stage
Housing Discrimination Is Unlawful
Your home should never depend on who you are. Murray Law LLC represents people in Denver and throughout Colorado who have been denied housing, harassed, or pushed out of their homes because of who they are. The law forbids it. If it happened to you, you may have a case.
What discrimination looks like
No one announces it. Common examples:
- Told the unit is taken when it is not.
- Charged higher deposits or given worse lease terms than other applicants.
- Steered toward or away from buildings or neighborhoods based on who you are.
- Harassed with slurs, threats, or unwanted advances.
- Retaliated against for complaining or asserting your rights.
- Evicted or threatened with eviction based on a protected characteristic.
- Subjected to discriminatory advertising.
Two laws protect you
The federal Fair Housing Act and Colorado law both prohibit discrimination in housing. Colorado goes further than federal law, covering more protected classes, banning source-of-income discrimination, and reaching small landlords federal law exempts. No landlord can turn you away for paying with a Section 8 voucher or disability benefits. “We don’t take vouchers” is illegal in Colorado. Murray Law brings claims under both laws, selecting the strongest path.
Who the law covers
The law covers more than landlords. The FHA and Colorado law bind property managers, real estate agents, brokers, lenders, homeowners associations, insurance companies, municipalities, and appraisers.
Protected classes
The FHA protects race, national origin, color, religion, disability, sex, and familial status. Colorado adds:
Disability rights
Housing providers must make reasonable accommodations and allow physical modifications so people with disabilities can use and enjoy their homes. Providers must consider requests in good faith. They cannot refuse without a legitimate reason.
Retaliation is illegal
The law protects people who report discrimination and those who request a disability accommodation.
Private enforcement of housing rights
Individuals may enforce their right to fair, nondiscriminatory housing by filing a lawsuit in state or federal court under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and the Fair Housing Act. A prevailing plaintiff may recover compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, and costs. The court may also grant injunctive relief, such as an order requiring a landlord to rent a particular unit or stop a discriminatory practice.
How Murray Law Helps
Denver and throughout Colorado
Tell Us What Happened.
If you faced discrimination in employment, housing or the marketplace, or retaliation for exercising your legal and First Amendment rights, anywhere in Colorado, Murray Law LLC is ready to help. Contact us for a consultation.
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