Law360, New York (May 22, 2015, 10:21 AM EDT) -- Last month marked the 47th year since the passage of the federal Fair Housing Act. Our federal FHA was passed by Congress literally days after the assassination of Martin Luther King and included race, color, national origin and religion as protected classes. The FHA was amended in 1974 (to add gender as a protected class) and then again in 1988 (to add disability and familial status as protected classes). While noting that anniversary in April, the acting head of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice highlighted some recent DOJ accomplishments. It remains important for professional apartment management to know about fair housing priorities at both the DOJ and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. First, HUD and the DOJ continue to believe that fair housing is more than just about finding a place to live. Particularly in a time when recent national events have again raised the profile of racial divisions in our country, the DOJ and HUD view fair housing as including equal access to good jobs, good schools, credit and lending, transportation, safety as well as a range of professional opportunities and personal relationships. While there are seven protected classes covered under federal law, many states (as well as various cities and counties) have adopted their own fair housing laws which include additional protected classes, such as source of income, sexual orientation, marital status, occupation and/or age. What this means is if you operate in an arena covered by the fair housing laws, you need to know the laws in your specific jurisdiction....