A New Jersey hotel faces civil rights charges from state authorities after allegedly hosting a conference for disability advocates while it had no wheelchair-accessible bathrooms on its first floor.

New Jersey’s Division on Civil Rights says the Crowne Plaza Edison should have known better when it scheduled renovations to its only first-floor, wheelchair-accessible restroom while hosting the Spina Bifida Resource Network’s conference.

The nonprofit advocates for those born with the medical condition Spina bifida, which affects the spine.

According to state authorities, the group told the hotel in advance that its conference would be attended by “several dozen people with wheelchairs.” But when they arrived, they were directed by staff to use another restroom with stalls “too narrow for wheelchair users.”

Messages left with the hotel and the nonprofit were not immediately returned.

“It’s shocking to imagine that a venue hosting a conference for disability advocates would fail to provide an adequate wheelchair-accessible restroom to the attendees,” state Attorney General Matthew Platkin, who oversees the civil rights agency, said in a statement.

“In New Jersey, that’s against the law.”

The civil rights probe was launched after two attendees complained about the conference accommodations, claiming that hotel staff eventually began escorting them to “a limited number of locked private guest rooms” that had wheelchair-friendly bathrooms.

Some of those rooms had been booked by other guests at the hotel, authorities said.

Under the Law Against Discrimination, businesses are required to provide “reasonable accommodations” to customers with disabilities. In this case, the state found probable cause that the Crowne Plaza Edison didn’t do that.

“The enforcement actions we are announcing today reinforce that employers, housing providers, and places of public accommodation must meet their legal obligations to ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to their facilities,” said Sundeep Iyer, the director of the Division on Civil Rights.

The hotel is owned by the international IHG Hotels and Resorts, which did not respond to a message seeking comment on the allegations. Its website includes a page dedicated to “diversity, equity and inclusion.”

“At the heart of our purpose — to provide True Hospitality for Good — is a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” the page states. “However, we know that advancing a culture of diversity and inclusivity and fostering a company that truly represents the world we live and travel in, requires continuous attention.”

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