Caste, Weight Emerge Among Expanding Bias-Protected Traits

Height and weight in New York City. Caste in Seattle. Traditionally Black hairstyles and textures in Michigan and Texas. Marital status in Colorado.

The lists of protected classes under anti-discrimination laws have expanded in novel ways this year in cities and states, barring workplace bias for characteristics not historically spelled out in civil rights statutes. New anti-bias laws cover categories such as reproductive health choices, criminal histories, and even polyamorous relationships in the case of one Massachusetts town.

The expansions are predominantly in jurisdictions led by Democratic lawmakers, and contrast sharply with moves in some red state legislatures to ...