AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 10, 2023
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 15, 2023
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 17, 2023
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 22, 2023
SENATE BILL No. 403
Introduced by Senator Wahab
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Bains)
February 9, 2023
An act to amend Section 51 of the Ci vil Code, to amend Sections 200 and 210.2 of, and to add Section 210.4 to, the Education Code, and to amend Sections 11135, 12920, 12921, 12926, 12930, 12931, 12940, 12944, 12955, 12955.8, 12956.1, 12956.2, and 12993 Section 12926 of the Government Code, relating to discrimination.
legislative counsel’s digest
SB 403, as amended, Wahab. Discrimination on the basis of caste. ancestry.
Existing law, the Unruh Ci vil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, adv antages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.
This bill w ould additionally pro vide that all persons within the jurisdiction of the state are so entitled re gardless of their define “ancestry” for purposes of the act to include, among other things, caste, as defined.
95 Existing law states the policy of the State of California to af ford all persons in public schools, regardless of their disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or specified other characteristics, equal rights and opportunities in the educational institutions of the state, and states that the purpose of related existing law is to prohibit acts that are contrary to that policy and to provide remedies therefor.
This bill would additionally include caste, as defined, ancestry as a protected characteristic in that polic y statement. statement and would define ”ancestry” and “caste” for purposes of those provisions.
Existing law prohibits discrimination in any program or activity that is conducted, operated, or administered by the state, or by an y state agency, that is funded directly by the state, or that receives any financial assistance from the state, based upon specified personal characteristics.
This bill w ould also prohibit discrimination based upon caste, as defined.
Existing la w, the California F air Emplo yment and Housing Act (FEHA), establishes the Civil Rights Department to enforce civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment, as prescribed. The FEHA declares the public policy of the state that it is necessary to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, reproductive health decisionmaking, or military and veteran status. The FEHA discrimination, and recognizes and declares to be a civil right the opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination because of a specified characteristic. discrimination, based on specified characteristics, including ancestry.
The FEHA makes certain discriminatory employment practices based on those characteristics unlawful.
This bill w ould revise FEHA to prohibit prescribed discriminatory employment practices on account of caste. define “ancestry” for purposes of the FEHA to include, among other things, caste, and would also define “caste” for purposes of those provisions.
The FEHA further declares the practice of discrimination because of race, caste, color , religion, se x, gender , gender identity , gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information in housing accommodations to be against public 95 — 2 — SB 403
policy. The FEHA recognizes and declares to be a ci vil right the opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold housing without discrimination because of a specified characteristic. The FEHA mak es certain discriminatory housing practices based on those characteristics unlawful, including to discriminate through public or private land use practices, decisions, and authorizations because of a specified characteristic, including the existence of a restrictive covenant, regardless of whether accompanied by a statement that the restrictive covenant is repealed or void. The FEHA authorizes a person who holds an o wnership interest of record in property that the y believe is the subject of an unla wfully restrictive co venant, as specified, to record a Restricti ve Co venant Modification, which is required to include a cop y of the original document with the illegal language stricken.
This bill w ould revise these FEHA housing pro visions to include protection for discrimination because of caste.
This bill would make additional similar changes relating to the duties and powers of the department and the construction of the FEHA and would define “caste” for purposes of the FEHA.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
line 2 The amendments in this act are declarative of and clarify existing line 3 law. This act shall not be construed to mean that caste line 4 discrimination is not already prohibited under e xisting la w, line 5 including by protections for religion, ancestry , national origin, line 6 ethnicity, race, color, or any other protected characteristic under line 7 existing la w. discrimination on the basis of ancestry does not line 8 already include discrimination on the basis of lineal descent, line 9 heritage, parentage, caste, or any other inherited social status. line 10 SEC. 2. Section 51 of the Civil Code is amended to read:
line 11 51. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the line 12 Unruh Civil Rights Act.
line 13 (b) All persons within the jurisdiction of this state are free and line 14 equal, and no matter what their se x, race, caste, color, religion, line 15 ancestry, national origin, disability , medical condition, genetic line 16 information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary line 17 language, or immigration status are entitled to the full and equal 95 SB 403 — 3 —
line 1 accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in line 2 all business establishments of every kind whatsoever. line 3 (c) This section shall not be construed to confer an y right or line 4 privilege on a person that is conditioned or limited by law or that line 5 is applicable alik e to persons of e very se x, color , race, caste, line 6 religion, ancestry, national origin, disability , medical condition, line 7 marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, line 8 or immigration status, or to persons re gardless of their genetic line 9 information.
line 10 (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an y line 11 construction, alteration, repair , structural or otherwise, or line 12 modification of an y sort whatsoe ver, be yond that construction, line 13 alteration, repair, or modification that is otherwise required by line 14 other pro visions of la w, to an y ne w or e xisting establishment, line 15 facility, building, improvement, or an y other structure, nor shall line 16 anything in this section be construed to augment, restrict, or alter line 17 in an y w ay the authority of the State Architect to require line 18 construction, alteration, repair , or modifications that the State line 19 Architect otherwise possesses pursuant to other laws. line 20 (e) For purposes of this section:
line 21 (1) “Disability” means an y mental or ph ysical disability as line 22 defined in Sections 12926 and 12926.1 of the Government Code. line 23 (2) (A) “Genetic information” means, with respect to an y line 24 individual, information about any of the following:
line 25 (i) The individual’s genetic tests.
line 26 (ii) The genetic tests of family members of the individual. line 27 (iii) The manifestation of a disease or disorder in f amily line 28 members of the individual.
line 29 (B) “Genetic information” includes any request for, or receipt line 30 of, genetic services, or participation in clinical research that line 31 includes genetic services, by an individual or any family member line 32 of the individual.
line 33 (C) “Genetic information” does not include information about line 34 the sex or age of any individual.
line 35 (3) “Medical condition” has the same meaning as defined in line 36 subdivision (i) of Section 12926 of the Government Code. line 37 (4) “Religion” includes all aspects of religious belief, line 38 observance, and practice.
line 39 (5) “Sex” includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, line 40 or medical conditions related to pre gnancy or childbirth. “Se x” 95 — 4 — SB 403
line 1 also includes, but is not limited to, a person’ s gender. “Gender” line 2 means sex, and includes a person’ s gender identity and gender line 3 expression. “Gender expression” means a person’s gender-related line 4 appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated line 5 with the person’s assigned sex at birth.
line 6 (6) “Sex, race, caste, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, line 7 disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, line 8 sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration line 9 status” includes a perception that the person has an y particular line 10 characteristic or characteristics within the listed categories or that line 11 the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to line 12 have, an y particular characteristic or characteristics within the line 13 listed categories.
line 14 (7) “Sexual orientation” has the same meaning as defined in line 15 subdivision (s) of Section 12926 of the Government Code. line 16 (8) “Ancestry” includes, b ut is not limited to, lineal descent, line 17 heritage, parentage, caste, or any inherited social status. Nothing line 18 precludes a per son from alleging discrimination on the basis of line 19 ancestry in combination with discrimination based upon other line 20 protected characteristics.
line 21 (8)
line 22 (9) “Caste” means an individual’s perceived position in a system line 23 of social stratification on the basis of inherited status. “ A system line 24 of social stratification on the basis of inherited status” may be line 25 characterized by factors that may include, b ut are not limited to, line 26 inability or restricted ability to alter inherited status; socially line 27 enforced restrictions on marriage, private and public segregation, line 28 and discrimination; and social exclusion on the basis of perceived line 29 status.
line 30 (f) A violation of the right of an y individual under the federal line 31 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public La w 101-336) line 32 shall also constitute a violation of this section. line 33 (g) Verification of immigration status and an y discrimination line 34 based upon verified immigration status, where required by federal line 35 law, shall not constitute a violation of this section. line 36 (h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the line 37 provision of services or documents in a language other than line 38 English, be yond that which is otherwise required by other line 39 provisions of federal, state, or local law, including Section 1632. line 40 SEC. 3. Section 200 of the Education Code is amended to read:
95 SB 403 — 5 —
line 1 200. It is the polic y of the State of California to af ford all line 2 persons in public schools, re gardless of their disability , caste, line 3 ancestry, gender, gender identity, gender expression, nationality, line 4 race or ethnicity , religion, se xual orientation, or an y other line 5 characteristic that is contained in the definition of hate crimes set line 6 forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal Code, including immigration line 7 status, equal rights, and opportunities in the educational institutions line 8 of the state. The purpose of this chapter is to prohibit acts that are line 9 contrary to that policy and to provide remedies therefor. line 10 SEC. 4. Section 210.2 of the Education Code is amended to line 11 read:
line 12 210.2. “Disability, caste, ancestry , gender , gender identity , line 13 gender expression, nationality, race or ethnicity , religion, sexual line 14 orientation, or an y other characteristic that is contained in the line 15 definition of hate crimes set forth in Section 422.55 of the Penal line 16 Code” includes a perception that the person has an y of those line 17 characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who line 18 has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics. line 19 SEC. 5. Section 210.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
line 20 210.4. (a) “Ancestry” includes, b ut is not limited to, lineal line 21 descent, heritage, parentage, caste, or any inherited social status. line 22 Nothing precludes a per son from alleging discrimination on the line 23 basis of ancestry in combination with discrimination based upon line 24 other protected characteristics.
line 25 “Caste”
line 26 (b) “Caste” means an indi vidual’s percei ved position in a line 27 system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status. “ A line 28 system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status” may line 29 be characterized by f actors that may include, b ut are not limited line 30 to, inability or restricted ability to alter inherited status; socially line 31 enforced restrictions on marriage, private and public segregation, line 32 and discrimination; and social exclusion on the basis of perceived line 33 status.
line 34 SEC. 6. Section 11135 of the Government Code is amended line 35 to read:
line 36 11135. (a) No person in the State of California shall, on the line 37 basis of sex, race, caste, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, line 38 ethnic group identification, age, mental disability , ph ysical line 39 disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, line 40 or sexual orientation, be unlawfully denied full and equal access 95 — 6 — SB 403
line 1 to the benefits of, or be unla wfully subjected to discrimination line 2 under, an y program or acti vity that is conducted, operated, or line 3 administered by the state or by any state agency, is funded directly line 4 by the state, or recei ves any financial assistance from the state. line 5 Notwithstanding Section 11000, this section applies to the line 6 California State University.
line 7 (b) With respect to discrimination on the basis of disability , line 8 programs and activities subject to subdi vision (a) shall meet the line 9 protections and prohibitions contained in Section 202 of the federal line 10 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), line 11 and the federal rules and re gulations adopted in implementation line 12 thereof, e xcept that if the la ws of this state prescribe stronger line 13 protections and prohibitions, the programs and acti vities subject line 14 to subdivision (a) shall be subject to the stronger protections and line 15 prohibitions.
line 16 (c) The protected bases referenced in this section have the same line 17 meanings as those terms are defined in Section 12926. line 18 (d) The protected bases used in this section include a perception line 19 that a person has any of those characteristics or that the person is line 20 associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of line 21 those characteristics.
line 22 SEC. 7. Section 12920 of the Government Code is amended line 23 to read:
line 24 12920. It is hereby declared as the public polic y of this state line 25 that it is necessary to protect and safe guard the right and line 26 opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold emplo yment line 27 without discrimination or abridgment on account of race, caste, line 28 religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, line 29 mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital line 30 status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual line 31 orientation, reproductive health decisionmaking, or military and line 32 veteran status.
line 33 It is recognized that the practice of den ying emplo yment line 34 opportunity and discriminating in the terms of emplo yment for line 35 these reasons foments domestic strife and unrest, deprives the state line 36 of the fullest utilization of its capacities for de velopment and line 37 advancement, and substantially and adversely affects the interests line 38 of employees, employers, and the public in general. line 39 Further, the practice of discrimination because of race, caste, line 40 color, religion, se x, gender, gender identity , gender e xpression, 95 SB 403 — 7 —
line 1 sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial line 2 status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or line 3 genetic information in housing accommodations is declared to be line 4 against public policy.
line 5 It is the purpose of this part to pro vide effective remedies that line 6 will eliminate these discriminatory practices.
line 7 This part shall be deemed an exercise of the police power of the line 8 state for the protection of the welf are, health, and peace of the line 9 people of this state.
line 10 SEC. 8. Section 12921 of the Government Code is amended line 11 to read:
line 12 12921. (a) The opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold line 13 employment without discrimination because of race, caste, religious line 14 creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental line 15 disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, line 16 sex, gender , gender identity , gender e xpression, age, se xual line 17 orientation, reproducti ve health decisionmaking, or v eteran or line 18 military status is hereby recognized as and declared to be a ci vil line 19 right.
line 20 (b) The opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold housing without line 21 discrimination because of race, caste, color, religion, sex, gender, line 22 gender identity , gender e xpression, se xual orientation, marital line 23 status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, line 24 disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, or an y line 25 other basis prohibited by Section 51 of the Ci vil Code is hereby line 26 recognized as and declared to be a civil right. line 27 SEC. 9.
line 28 SEC. 6. Section 12926 of the Government Code is amended line 29 to read:
line 30 12926. As used in this part in connection with unla wful line 31 practices, unless a dif ferent meaning clearly appears from the line 32 context:
line 33 (a) “Affirmative relief” or “prospecti ve relief” includes the line 34 authority to order reinstatement of an employee, awards of backpay, line 35 reimbursement of out-of-pock et e xpenses, hiring, transfers, line 36 reassignments, grants of tenure, promotions, cease and desist line 37 orders, posting of notices, training of personnel, testing, expunging line 38 of records, reporting of records, and an y other similar relief that line 39 is intended to correct unlawful practices under this part. 95 — 8 — SB 403
line 1 (b) “Age” refers to the chronological age of any individual who line 2 has reached a 40th birthday.
line 3 (c) Except as provided by Section 12926.05, “employee” does line 4 not include an y indi vidual emplo yed by that person’ s parent, line 5 spouse, or child or any individual employed under a special license line 6 in a nonprofit sheltered workshop or rehabilitation facility. line 7 (d) “Employer” includes any person regularly employing five line 8 or more persons, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, line 9 directly or indirectly, the state or any political or civil subdivision line 10 of the state, and cities, except as follows:
line 11 “Employer” does not include a religious association or line 12 corporation not organized for private profit.
line 13 (e) “Employment agency” includes any person undertaking for line 14 compensation to procure employees or opportunities to work. line 15 (f) “Essential functions” means the fundamental job duties of line 16 the employment position the individual with a disability holds or line 17 desires. “Essential functions” does not include the mar ginal line 18 functions of the position.
line 19 (1) A job function may be considered essential for any of several line 20 reasons, including, b ut not limited to, an y one or more of the line 21 following:
line 22 (A) The function may be essential because the reason the line 23 position exists is to perform that function.
line 24 (B) The function may be essential because of the limited number line 25 of employees available among whom the performance of that job line 26 function can be distributed.
line 27 (C) The function may be highly specialized, so that the line 28 incumbent in the position is hired based on expertise or the ability line 29 to perform a particular function.
line 30 (2) Evidence of whether a particular function is essential line 31 includes, but is not limited to, the following:
line 32 (A) The employer’s judgment as to which functions are essential. line 33 (B) Written job descriptions prepared before adv ertising or line 34 interviewing applicants for the job.
line 35 (C) The amount of time spent on the job performing the function. line 36 (D) The consequences of not requiring the incumbent to perform line 37 the function.
line 38 (E) The terms of a collective bargaining agreement. line 39 (F) The work experiences of past incumbents in the job. line 40 (G) The current work experience of incumbents in similar jobs. 95 SB 403 — 9 —
line 1 (g) (1) “Genetic information” means, with respect to an y line 2 individual, information about any of the following:
line 3 (A) The individual’s genetic tests.
line 4 (B) The genetic tests of family members of the individual. line 5 (C) The manifestation of a disease or disorder in family members line 6 of the individual.
line 7 (2) “Genetic information” includes an y request for, or receipt line 8 of, genetic services, or participation in clinical research that line 9 includes genetic services, by an individual or any family member line 10 of the individual.
line 11 (3) “Genetic information” does not include information about line 12 the sex or age of any individual.
line 13 (h) “Labor organization” includes any organization that exists line 14 and is constituted for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective line 15 bargaining or of dealing with emplo yers concerning grie vances, line 16 terms or conditions of emplo yment, or of other mutual aid or line 17 protection.
line 18 (i) “Medical condition” means either of the following:
line 19 (1) Any health impairment related to or associated with a line 20 diagnosis of cancer or a record or history of cancer. line 21 (2) Genetic characteristics. For purposes of this section, “genetic line 22 characteristics” means either of the following:
line 23 (A) Any scientifically or medically identifiable gene or line 24 chromosome, or combination or alteration thereof, that is kno wn line 25 to be a cause of a disease or disorder in a person or that person’ s line 26 offspring, or that is determined to be associated with a statistically line 27 increased risk of development of a disease or disorder, and that is line 28 presently not associated with an y symptoms of an y disease or line 29 disorder.
line 30 (B) Inherited characteristics that may derive from the individual line 31 or family member, that are kno wn to be a cause of a disease or line 32 disorder in a person or that person’ s of fspring, or that are line 33 determined to be associated with a statistically increased risk of line 34 development of a disease or disorder , and that are presently not line 35 associated with any symptoms of any disease or disorder. line 36 (j) “Mental disability” includes, but is not limited to, all of the line 37 following:
line 38 (1) Having any mental or psychological disorder or condition, line 39 such as intellectual disability, organic brain syndrome, emotional 95 — 10 — SB 403
line 1 or mental illness, or specific learning disabilities, that limits a line 2 major life activity. For purposes of this section:
line 3 (A) “Limits” shall be determined without re gard to mitigating line 4 measures, such as medications, assisti ve devices, or reasonable line 5 accommodations, unless the mitig ating measure itself limits a line 6 major life activity.
line 7 (B) A mental or psychological disorder or condition limits a line 8 major life acti vity if it mak es the achie vement of the major life line 9 activity difficult.
line 10 (C) “Major life activities” shall be broadly construed and shall line 11 include physical, mental, and social activities and working. line 12 (2) Any other mental or psychological disorder or condition not line 13 described in paragraph (1) that requires special education or related line 14 services.
line 15 (3) Having a record or history of a mental or psychological line 16 disorder or condition described in paragraph (1) or (2), which is line 17 known to the employer or other entity covered by this part. line 18 (4) Being regarded or treated by the emplo yer or other entity line 19 covered by this part as having, or having had, any mental condition line 20 that makes achievement of a major life activity difficult. line 21 (5) Being regarded or treated by the emplo yer or other entity line 22 covered by this part as ha ving, or ha ving had, a mental or line 23 psychological disorder or condition that has no present disabling line 24 effect, but that may become a mental disability as described in line 25 paragraph (1) or (2).
line 26 “Mental disability” does not include sexual behavior disorders, line 27 compulsive gambling, kleptomania, p yromania, or psychoacti ve line 28 substance use disorders resulting from the current unlawful use of line 29 controlled substances or other drugs.
line 30 (k) “Veteran or military status” means a member or v eteran of line 31 the United States Armed F orces, United States Armed F orces line 32 Reserve, the United States National Guard, and the California line 33 National Guard.
line 34 (l) “On the bases enumerated in this part” means or refers to line 35 discrimination on the basis of one or more of the following: race, line 36 caste, religious creed, color , national origin, ancestry , ph ysical line 37 disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, line 38 marital status, se x, age, se xual orientation, reproducti ve health line 39 decisionmaking, or veteran or military status.
95 SB 403 — 11 —
line 1 (m) “Physical disability” includes, b ut is not limited to, all of line 2 the following:
line 3 (1) Having an y ph ysiological disease, disorder , condition, line 4 cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss that does both of the line 5 following:
line 6 (A) Affects one or more of the follo wing body systems:
line 7 neurological, immunological, musculosk eletal, special sense line 8 organs, respiratory , including speech or gans, cardio vascular, line 9 reproductive, digestive, genitourinary, hemic and lymphatic, skin, line 10 and endocrine.
line 11 (B) Limits a major life activity. For purposes of this section:
line 12 (i) “Limits” shall be determined without re gard to mitig ating line 13 measures such as medications, assisti ve devices, prosthetics, or line 14 reasonable accommodations, unless the mitigating measure itself line 15 limits a major life activity.
line 16 (ii) A ph ysiological disease, disorder , condition, cosmetic line 17 disfigurement, or anatomical loss limits a major life acti vity if it line 18 makes the achievement of the major life activity difficult. line 19 (iii) “Major life acti vities” shall be broadly construed and line 20 includes physical, mental, and social activities and working. line 21 (2) Any other health impairment not described in paragraph (1) line 22 that requires special education or related services. line 23 (3) Having a record or history of a disease, disorder, condition, line 24 cosmetic disfigurement, anatomical loss, or health impairment line 25 described in paragraph (1) or (2), which is known to the employer line 26 or other entity covered by this part.
line 27 (4) Being regarded or treated by the emplo yer or other entity line 28 covered by this part as ha ving, or ha ving had, an y ph ysical line 29 condition that makes achievement of a major life activity difficult. line 30 (5) Being regarded or treated by the emplo yer or other entity line 31 covered by this part as having, or having had, a disease, disorder, line 32 condition, cosmetic disfigurement, anatomical loss, or health line 33 impairment that has no present disabling ef fect but may become line 34 a physical disability as described in paragraph (1) or (2). line 35 (6) “Physical disability” does not include se xual beha vior line 36 disorders, compulsi ve g ambling, kleptomania, p yromania, or line 37 psychoactive substance use disorders resulting from the current line 38 unlawful use of controlled substances or other drugs. line 39 (n) Notwithstanding subdivisions (j) and (m), if the definition line 40 of “disability” used in the federal Americans with Disabilities Act 95 — 12 — SB 403
line 1 of 1990 (Public Law 101-336) would result in broader protection line 2 of the civil rights of individuals with a mental disability or physical line 3 disability, as defined in subdi vision (j) or (m), or w ould include line 4 any medical condition not included within those definitions, then line 5 that broader protection or coverage shall be deemed incorporated line 6 by reference into, and shall prevail over conflicting provisions of, line 7 the definitions in subdivisions (j) and (m).
line 8 (o) “Race, caste, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, line 9 physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic line 10 information, marital status, se x, age, se xual orientation, line 11 reproductive health decisionmaking, or veteran or military status” line 12 includes a perception that the person has an y of those line 13 characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who line 14 has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics. line 15 (p) “Reasonable accommodation” may include either of the line 16 following:
line 17 (1) Making e xisting f acilities used by emplo yees readily line 18 accessible to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities. line 19 (2) Job restructuring, part-time or modified w ork schedules, line 20 reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification of line 21 equipment or devices, adjustment or modifications of examinations, line 22 training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers or line 23 interpreters, and other similar accommodations for indi viduals line 24 with disabilities.
line 25 (q) “Religious creed, ” “religion, ” “religious observ ance,” line 26 “religious belief,” and “creed” include all aspects of religious line 27 belief, observ ance, and practice, including religious dress and line 28 grooming practices. “Religious dress practice” shall be construed line 29 broadly to include the wearing or carrying of religious clothing, line 30 head or face coverings, jewelry, artifacts, and any other item that line 31 is part of an indi vidual observing a religious creed. “Religious line 32 grooming practice” shall be construed broadly to include all forms line 33 of head, f acial, and body hair that are part of an indi vidual line 34 observing a religious creed.
line 35 (r) (1) “Sex” includes, but is not limited to, the following:
line 36 (A) Pregnancy or medical conditions related to pregnancy. line 37 (B) Childbirth or medical conditions related to childbirth. line 38 (C) Breastfeeding or medical conditions related to breastfeeding. line 39 (2) “Sex” also includes, but is not limited to, a person’s gender. line 40 “Gender” means sex, and includes a person’s gender identity and 95 SB 403 — 13 —
line 1 gender e xpression. “Gender e xpression” means a person’ s line 2 gender-related appearance and beha vior whether or not line 3 stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth. line 4 (s) “Sexual orientation” means heterosexuality, homosexuality, line 5 and bisexuality.
line 6 (t) “Supervisor” means any individual having the authority, in line 7 the interest of the emplo yer, to hire, transfer , suspend, lay of f, line 8 recall, promote, dischar ge, assign, re ward, or discipline other line 9 employees, or the responsibility to direct them, or to adjust their line 10 grievances, or ef fectively to recommend that action, if, in line 11 connection with the foregoing, the exercise of that authority is not line 12 of a merely routine or clerical nature, b ut requires the use of line 13 independent judgment.
line 14 (u) “Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant line 15 difficulty or e xpense, when considered in light of the follo wing line 16 factors:
line 17 (1) The nature and cost of the accommodation needed. line 18 (2) The overall financial resources of the f acilities involved in line 19 the provision of the reasonable accommodations, the number of line 20 persons employed at the f acility, and the ef fect on expenses and line 21 resources or the impact otherwise of these accommodations upon line 22 the operation of the facility.
line 23 (3) The overall financial resources of the co vered entity, the line 24 overall size of the business of a covered entity with respect to the line 25 number of emplo yees, and the number , type, and location of its line 26 facilities.
line 27 (4) The type of operations, including the composition, structure, line 28 and functions of the workforce of the entity.
line 29 (5) The geographic separateness or administrati ve or fiscal line 30 relationship of the facility or facilities.
line 31 (v) “National origin” discrimination includes, but is not limited line 32 to, discrimination on the basis of possessing a dri ver’s license or line 33 identification card granted under Section 12801.9 of the Vehicle line 34 Code.
line 35 (w) “Race” is inclusi ve of traits historically associated with line 36 race, including, b ut not limited to, hair te xture and protecti ve line 37 hairstyles.
line 38 (x) “Protective hairstyles” includes, but is not limited to, such line 39 hairstyles as braids, locks, and twists.
95 — 14 — SB 403
line 1 (y) “Reproductive health decisionmaking” includes, but is not line 2 limited to, a decision to use or access a particular drug, de vice, line 3 product, or medical service for reproducti ve health. This line 4 subdivision and other pro visions in this part relating to line 5 “reproductive health decisionmaking” shall not be construed to line 6 mean that subdivision (r) of this section and other pro visions in line 7 this part related to “se x” do not include reproducti ve health line 8 decisionmaking.
line 9 (z) “Ancestry” includes, b ut is not limited to, lineal descent, line 10 heritage, parentage, caste, or any inherited social status. Nothing line 11 precludes a per son from alleging discrimination on the basis of line 12 ancestry in combination with discrimination based upon other line 13 protected characteristics.
line 14 (z)
line 15 (aa) “Caste” means an indi vidual’s percei ved position in a line 16 system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status. “ A line 17 system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status” may line 18 be characterized by f actors that may include, b ut are not limited line 19 to, inability or restricted ability to alter inherited status; socially line 20 enforced restrictions on marriage, private and public segregation, line 21 and discrimination; and social exclusion on the basis of perceived line 22 status.
line 23 SEC. 10. Section 12930 of the Government Code is amended line 24 to read:
line 25 12930. The department shall ha ve the follo wing functions, line 26 duties, and powers:
line 27 (a) To establish and maintain a principal office and an y other line 28 offices within the state as are necessary to carry out the purposes line 29 of this part.
line 30 (b) To meet and function at any place within the state. line 31 (c) To appoint attorneys, investigators, conciliators, mediators, line 32 and other emplo yees as it may deem necessary , fix their line 33 compensation within the limitations provided by law, and prescribe line 34 their duties.
line 35 (d) To obtain upon request and utilize the services of all line 36 governmental departments and agencies and, in addition, with line 37 respect to housing discrimination, of conciliation councils. line 38 (e) To adopt, promulgate, amend, and rescind suitable procedural line 39 rules and re gulations to carry out the in vestigation, prosecution, 95 SB 403 — 15 —
line 1 and dispute resolution functions and duties of the department line 2 pursuant to this part.
line 3 (f) (1) To receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute line 4 complaints alleging practices made unlawful pursuant to Chapter line 5 6 (commencing with Section 12940).
line 6 (2) To receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute line 7 complaints alleging a violation of Section 51, 51.5, 51.7, 51.9, 54, line 8 54.1, or 54.2 of the Ci vil Code. The remedies and procedures of line 9 this part shall be independent of an y other remedy or procedure line 10 that might apply.
line 11 (3) To receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute line 12 complaints alleging, and to bring civil actions pursuant to Section line 13 52.5 of the Civil Code for, a violation of Section 236.1 of the Penal line 14 Code. Damages awarded in any action brought by the department line 15 pursuant to Section 52.5 of the Civil Code shall be awarded to the line 16 person harmed by the violation of Section 236.1 of the Penal Code. line 17 Costs and attorne y’s fees a warded in an y action brought by the line 18 department pursuant to Section 52.5 of the Ci vil Code shall be line 19 awarded to the department. The remedies and procedures of this line 20 part shall be independent of an y other remedy or procedure that line 21 might apply.
line 22 (4) To receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute line 23 complaints alleging practices made unla wful pursuant to Article line 24 9.5 (commencing with Section 11135) of Chapter 1 of P art 1, line 25 except for complaints relating to educational equity brought under line 26 Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 200) of Part 1 of Division 1 line 27 of Title 1 of the Education Code and investigated pursuant to the line 28 procedures set forth in Subchapter 5.1 of Title 5 of the California line 29 Code of Regulations, and not otherwise within the jurisdiction of line 30 the department.
line 31 (5) To receive, investigate, conciliate, mediate, and prosecute line 32 complaints alleging practices made unlawful pursuant to Section line 33 1197.5 of the Labor Code. The department shall, in coordination line 34 with the Di vision of Labor Standards Enforcement within the line 35 Department of Industrial Relations, adopt procedures to ensure line 36 that the departments coordinate activities to enforce Section 1197.5 line 37 of the Labor Code.
line 38 (A) Nothing in this part pre vents the director or the director’ s line 39 authorized representative, in that person’s discretion, from making, 95 — 16 — SB 403
line 1 signing, and filing a complaint pursuant to Section 12960 or 12961 line 2 alleging practices made unlawful under Section 11135. line 3 (B) Remedies a vailable to the department in conciliating, line 4 mediating, and prosecuting complaints alleging these practices are line 5 the same as those a vailable to the department in conciliating, line 6 mediating, and prosecuting complaints alleging violations of Article line 7 1 (commencing with Section 12940) of Chapter 6.
line 8 (g) In connection with an y matter under in vestigation or in line 9 question before the department pursuant to a complaint filed under line 10 Section 12960, 12961, or 12980:
line 11 (1) To issue subpoenas to require the attendance and testimony line 12 of witnesses and the production of books, records, documents, and line 13 physical materials.
line 14 (2) To administer oaths, examine witnesses under oath and take line 15 evidence, and take depositions and affidavits.
line 16 (3) To issue written interrogatories.
line 17 (4) To request the production for inspection and cop ying of line 18 books, records, documents, and physical materials. line 19 (5) To petition the superior courts to compel the appearance line 20 and testimon y of witnesses, the production of books, records, line 21 documents, and ph ysical materials, and the answering of line 22 interrogatories.
line 23 (h) To bring civil actions pursuant to Section 12965 or 12981 line 24 of this code, or Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Public line 25 Law 88-352; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000 et seq.), as amended, the federal line 26 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Public Law 101-336; 42 line 27 U.S.C. 12101, et seq.), as amended, or the federal F air Housing line 28 Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601 et seq.), and to prosecute those ci vil line 29 actions before state and federal trial courts.
line 30 (i) To issue those publications and those results of investigations line 31 and research as in its judgment will tend to promote goodwill and line 32 minimize or eliminate discrimination in employment on the bases line 33 enumerated in this part and discrimination in housing because of line 34 race, caste, religious creed, color , se x, gender, gender identity , line 35 gender expression, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial line 36 status, disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, line 37 or sexual orientation.
line 38 (j) To in vestigate, appro ve, certify , decertify , monitor , and line 39 enforce nondiscrimination programs proposed by a contractor to line 40 be engaged in pursuant to Section 12990.
95 SB 403 — 17 —
line 1 (k) To render annually to the Go vernor and to the Le gislature line 2 a written report of its activities and of its recommendations. line 3 (l) To conduct mediations at any time after a complaint is filed line 4 pursuant to Section 12960, 12961, or 12980. The department may line 5 end mediation at any time.
line 6 (m) The following shall apply with respect to an y accusation line 7 pending before the former F air Emplo yment and Housing line 8 Commission on or after January 1, 2013:
line 9 (1) If an accusation issued under former Section 12965 includes line 10 a prayer either for damages for emotional injuries as a component line 11 of actual damages, or for administrati ve fines, or both, or if an line 12 accusation is amended for the purpose of adding a prayer either line 13 for damages for emotional injuries as a component of actual line 14 damages, or for administrative fines, or both, with the consent of line 15 the party accused of engaging in unlawful practices, the department line 16 may withdraw an accusation and bring a ci vil action in superior line 17 court.
line 18 (2) If an accusation w as issued under former Section 12981, line 19 with the consent of the aggrie ved party filing the complaint, an line 20 aggrieved person on whose behalf a complaint is filed, or the party line 21 accused of eng aging in unla wful practices, the department may line 22 withdraw the accusation and bring a civil action in superior court. line 23 (3) Where removal to court is not feasible, the department shall line 24 retain the services of the Office of Administrative Hearings to line 25 adjudicate the administrative action pursuant to Sections 11370.3 line 26 and 11502.
line 27 (n) On a challenge, pursuant to Section 1094.5 of the Code of line 28 Civil Procedure, to a decision of the former Fair Employment and line 29 Housing Commission pending on or after January 1, 2013, the line 30 director or the director’s designee shall consult with the Attorney line 31 General regarding the defense of that writ petition. line 32 (o) By performing the functions and duties and e xercising the line 33 powers set forth in this part, the department represents the interests line 34 of the state and effectuates the declared public policy of the state line 35 to protect and safeguard the rights and opportunities of all persons line 36 from unlawful discrimination and other violations of this part. This line 37 subdivision is declarative of existing law as stated in Department line 38 of Fair Employment and Housing v. Cathy’s Creations, Inc. (2020) line 39 54 Cal.App.5th 404, 410.
95 — 18 — SB 403
line 1 SEC. 11. Section 12931 of the Government Code is amended line 2 to read:
line 3 12931. The department may also pro vide assistance to line 4 communities and persons therein in resolving disputes, line 5 disagreements, or difficulties relating to discriminatory practices line 6 based on race, caste, religious creed, color , national origin, line 7 ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, veteran or military line 8 status, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, line 9 gender, gender identity , gender e xpression, familial status, age, line 10 reproductive health decisionmaking, or se xual orientation that line 11 impair the rights of persons in those communities under the line 12 Constitution or la ws of the United States or of this state. The line 13 services of the department may be made available in cases of these line 14 disputes, disagreements, or difficulties only when, in its judgment, line 15 peaceful relations among the persons of the community involved line 16 are threatened thereby. The department’s services are to be made line 17 available only upon the request of an appropriate state or local line 18 public body, or upon the request of an y person directly af fected line 19 by the dispute, disagreement, or difficulty.
line 20 The assistance of the department pursuant to this section shall line 21 be limited to endeavors at investigation, conference, conciliation, line 22 and persuasion.
line 23 SEC. 12. Section 12940 of the Government Code is amended line 24 to read:
line 25 12940. It is an unla wful employment practice, unless based line 26 upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based line 27 upon applicable security re gulations established by the United line 28 States or the State of California:
line 29 (a) For an employer, because of the race, caste, religious creed, line 30 color, national origin, ancestry , ph ysical disability , mental line 31 disability, reproductive health decisionmaking, medical condition, line 32 genetic information, marital status, se x, gender, gender identity, line 33 gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military line 34 status of any person, to refuse to hire or emplo y the person or to line 35 refuse to select the person for a training program leading to line 36 employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment line 37 or from a training program leading to emplo yment, or to line 38 discriminate ag ainst the person in compensation or in terms, line 39 conditions, or privileges of employment.
95 SB 403 — 19 —
line 1 (1) This part does not prohibit an emplo yer from refusing to line 2 hire or dischar ging an emplo yee with a ph ysical or mental line 3 disability, or subject an emplo yer to an y legal liability resulting line 4 from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with line 5 a ph ysical or mental disability , if the emplo yee, because of a line 6 physical or mental disability, is unable to perform the employee’s line 7 essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot line 8 perform those duties in a manner that w ould not endanger the line 9 employee’s health or safety or the health or safety of others e ven line 10 with reasonable accommodations.
line 11 (2) This part does not prohibit an emplo yer from refusing to line 12 hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employee’s line 13 medical condition, is unable to perform the emplo yee’s essential line 14 duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform line 15 those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employee’s line 16 health or safety or the health or safety of others e ven with line 17 reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an line 18 employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ line 19 or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employee’s line 20 medical condition, is unable to perform the emplo yee’s essential line 21 duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not line 22 endanger the emplo yee’s health or safety or the health or safety line 23 of others even with reasonable accommodations.
line 24 (3) Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of line 25 marital status shall do either of the following:
line 26 (A) Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for line 27 reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of line 28 spouses in the same department, di vision, or f acility, consistent line 29 with the rules and regulations adopted by the council. line 30 (B) Prohibit bona fide health plans from pro viding additional line 31 or greater benefits to emplo yees with dependents than to those line 32 employees without or with fewer dependents.
line 33 (4) Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of line 34 sex shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a line 35 factor in emplo yee selection or to gi ve special consideration to line 36 Vietnam-era veterans.
line 37 (5) (A) This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing line 38 to employ an individual because of the individual’s age if the law line 39 compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing line 40 staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, 95 — 20 — SB 403
line 1 rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the line 2 employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from line 3 high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and line 4 of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices. line 5 (B) The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the line 6 basis of age do not prohibit an emplo yer from pro viding health line 7 benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that line 8 are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes line 9 eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies line 10 to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual pro visions or line 11 practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care line 12 reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011. line 13 (b) For a labor organization, because of the race, caste, religious line 14 creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental line 15 disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, line 16 sex, gender , gender identity , gender e xpression, age, se xual line 17 orientation, reproducti ve health decisionmaking, or v eteran or line 18 military status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its line 19 membership the person, or to pro vide only second-class or line 20 segregated membership or to discriminate ag ainst an y person line 21 because of the race, caste, religious creed, color , national origin, line 22 ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, line 23 genetic information, marital status, se x, gender, gender identity, line 24 gender e xpression, age, se xual orientation, reproducti ve health line 25 decisionmaking, or veteran or military status of the person in the line 26 election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of line 27 the labor organization’s staff or to discriminate in any way against line 28 any of its members or against any employer or against any person line 29 employed by an employer.
line 30 (c) For any person to discriminate ag ainst any person in the line 31 selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that line 32 person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training line 33 program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another line 34 limited duration program to pro vide unpaid work experience for line 35 that person because of the race, caste, religious creed, color , line 36 national origin, ancestry , ph ysical disability , mental disability , line 37 medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, line 38 gender identity , gender e xpression, age, se xual orientation, line 39 reproductive health decisionmaking, or veteran or military status line 40 of the person discriminated against.
95 SB 403 — 21 —
line 1 (d) For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate line 2 or cause to be printed or circulated an y publication, or to mak e line 3 any non-job-related inquiry of an emplo yee or applicant, either line 4 verbal or through use of an application form, that e xpresses, line 5 directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination line 6 as to race, caste, religious creed, color , national origin, ancestry, line 7 physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic line 8 information, marital status, se x, gender, gender identity , gender line 9 expression, age, se xual orientation, reproducti ve health line 10 decisionmaking, or veteran or military status, or any intent to make line 11 any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does line 12 not prohibit an emplo yer or emplo yment agency from inquiring line 13 into the age of an applicant, or from specifying age limitations, if line 14 the law compels or provides for that action.
line 15 (e) (1) Except as pro vided in paragraph (2) or (3), for an y line 16 employer or emplo yment agenc y to require an y medical or line 17 psychological examination of an applicant, to mak e any medical line 18 or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to mak e an y inquiry line 19 whether an applicant has a mental disability or physical disability line 20 or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature line 21 or severity of a ph ysical disability, mental disability, or medical line 22 condition.
line 23 (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment line 24 agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform line 25 job-related functions and may respond to an applicant’ s request line 26 for reasonable accommodation.
line 27 (3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment line 28 agency may require a medical or psychological e xamination or line 29 make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after line 30 an emplo yment of fer has been made b ut prior to the line 31 commencement of emplo yment duties, pro vided that the line 32 examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business line 33 necessity and that all entering emplo yees in the same job line 34 classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry. line 35 (f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), for an y employer line 36 or employment agency to require an y medical or psychological line 37 examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological line 38 inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee line 39 has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, 95 — 22 — SB 403
line 1 or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical line 2 disability, mental disability, or medical condition. line 3 (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment line 4 agency may require any examinations or inquiries that it can show line 5 to be job related and consistent with b usiness necessity . An line 6 employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical line 7 examinations, including v oluntary medical histories, which are line 8 part of an employee health program available to employees at that line 9 worksite.
line 10 (g) For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency line 11 to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any line 12 person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section line 13 11161.8 of the Penal Code that prohibits retaliation against hospital line 14 employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities line 15 or community care facilities.
line 16 (h) For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, line 17 or person to dischar ge, expel, or otherwise discriminate ag ainst line 18 any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden line 19 under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, line 20 or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
line 21 (i) For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the line 22 doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to line 23 do so.
line 24 (j) (1) For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, line 25 apprenticeship training program or any training program leading line 26 to emplo yment, or an y other person, because of race, caste, line 27 religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, line 28 mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital line 29 status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual line 30 orientation, reproducti ve health decisionmaking, or v eteran or line 31 military status, to harass an emplo yee, an applicant, an unpaid line 32 intern or volunteer, or a person pro viding services pursuant to a line 33 contract. Harassment of an emplo yee, an applicant, an unpaid line 34 intern or volunteer, or a person pro viding services pursuant to a line 35 contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall line 36 be unlawful if the entity , or its agents or supervisors, kno ws or line 37 should have known of this conduct and f ails to tak e immediate line 38 and appropriate correcti ve action. An emplo yer may also be line 39 responsible for the acts of nonemplo yees, with respect to line 40 harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, 95 SB 403 — 23 —
line 1 or persons pro viding services pursuant to a contract in the line 2 workplace, if the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or line 3 should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and line 4 appropriate correcti ve action. In re viewing cases in volving the line 5 acts of nonemplo yees, the e xtent of the emplo yer’s control and line 6 any other le gal responsibility that the emplo yer may ha ve with line 7 respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. line 8 An entity shall tak e all reasonable steps to pre vent harassment line 9 from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary line 10 in order to establish harassment.
line 11 (2) The provisions of this subdivision are declaratory of existing line 12 law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard line 13 to harassment.
line 14 (3) An emplo yee of an entity subject to this subdi vision is line 15 personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that line 16 is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer line 17 or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and line 18 fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. line 19 (4) (A) For purposes of this subdivision only, “employer” means line 20 any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly line 21 receiving the services of one or more persons pro viding services line 22 pursuant to a contract, or an y person acting as an agent of an line 23 employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil line 24 subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of “employer” line 25 in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this line 26 section other than this subdivision.
line 27 (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this line 28 subdivision, “employer” does not include a religious association line 29 or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided line 30 in Section 12926.2.
line 31 (C) For purposes of this subdivision, “harassment” because of line 32 sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment line 33 based on pre gnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. line 34 Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire. line 35 (5) For purposes of this subdivision, “a person providing services line 36 pursuant to a contract” means a person who meets all of the line 37 following criteria:
line 38 (A) The person has the right to control the performance of the line 39 contract for services and discretion as to the manner of line 40 performance.
95 — 24 — SB 403
line 1 (B) The person is customarily eng aged in an independently line 2 established business.
line 3 (C) The person has control over the time and place the work is line 4 performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the w ork, line 5 and performs w ork that requires a particular skill not ordinarily line 6 used in the course of the employer’s work.
line 7 (k) For an emplo yer, labor or ganization, employment agency, line 8 apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading line 9 to employment, to f ail to tak e all reasonable steps necessary to line 10 prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring. line 11 (l) (1) For an employer or other entity co vered by this part to line 12 refuse to hire or emplo y a person or to refuse to select a person line 13 for a training program leading to emplo yment or to bar or to line 14 discharge a person from employment or from a training program line 15 leading to emplo yment, or to discriminate ag ainst a person in line 16 compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment line 17 because of a conflict between the person’ s religious belief or line 18 observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer line 19 or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored line 20 any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the line 21 religious belief or observ ance, including the possibilities of line 22 excusing the person from those duties that conflict with the line 23 person’s religious belief or observance or permitting those duties line 24 to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable line 25 to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observ ance line 26 without undue hardship, as defined in subdi vision (u) of Section line 27 12926, on the conduct of the b usiness of the emplo yer or other line 28 entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used line 29 in this section, includes, b ut is not limited to, observ ance of a line 30 Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time line 31 necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, line 32 and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as line 33 described in subdi vision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision line 34 shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid line 35 internship, and an y other program to pro vide unpaid e xperience line 36 for a person in the workplace or industry.
line 37 (2) An accommodation of an individual’s religious dress practice line 38 or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the line 39 accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other line 40 employees or the public.
95 SB 403 — 25 —
line 1 (3) An accommodation is not required under this subdi vision line 2 if it w ould result in a violation of this part or an y other la w line 3 prohibiting discrimination or protecting ci vil rights, including line 4 subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 line 5 of this code.
line 6 (4) For an employer or other entity co vered by this part to, in line 7 addition to the emplo yee protections pro vided pursuant to line 8 subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person line 9 for requesting accommodation under this subdi vision, regardless line 10 of whether the request was granted.
line 11 (m) (1) For an employer or other entity covered by this part to line 12 fail to mak e reasonable accommodation for the kno wn physical line 13 or mental disability of an applicant or emplo yee. Nothing in this line 14 subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdi vision (a) shall be line 15 construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by line 16 the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, line 17 as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation. line 18 (2) For an employer or other entity co vered by this part to, in line 19 addition to the emplo yee protections pro vided pursuant to line 20 subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person line 21 for requesting accommodation under this subdi vision, regardless line 22 of whether the request was granted.
line 23 (n) For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail line 24 to eng age in a timely , good f aith, interacti ve process with the line 25 employee or applicant to determine ef fective reasonable line 26 accommodations, if an y, in response to a request for reasonable line 27 accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical line 28 or mental disability or known medical condition. line 29 (o) For an emplo yer or other entity co vered by this part, to line 30 subject, directly or indirectly , any employee, applicant, or other line 31 person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic. line 32 (p) For an employer to require, as a condition of emplo yment, line 33 continued employment, or a benefit of employment, the disclosure line 34 of information relating to an applicant’s or employee’s reproductive line 35 health decisionmaking.
line 36 (q) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the line 37 ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans line 38 for purposes of a warding a veteran’s preference as permitted by line 39 law.
95 — 26 — SB 403
line 1 SEC. 13. Section 12944 of the Government Code is amended line 2 to read:
line 3 12944. (a) It shall be unlawful for a licensing board to require line 4 any examination or establish any other qualification for licensing line 5 that has an adverse impact on any class by virtue of its race, caste, line 6 religious creed, color , national origin or ancestry , se x, gender , line 7 gender identity, gender expression, age, medical condition, genetic line 8 information, ph ysical disability, mental disability , reproducti ve line 9 health decisionmaking, or se xual orientation, unless the practice line 10 can be demonstrated to be job related.
line 11 Where the council, after hearing, determines that an examination line 12 is unla wful under this subdi vision, the licensing board may line 13 continue to use and rely on the e xamination until such time as line 14 judicial re view by the superior court of the determination is line 15 exhausted.
line 16 If an e xamination or other qualification for licensing is line 17 determined to be unla wful under this section, that determination line 18 shall not void, limit, repeal, or otherwise affect any right, privilege, line 19 status, or responsibility previously conferred upon any person by line 20 the e xamination or by a license issued in reliance on the line 21 examination or qualification.
line 22 (b) It shall be unlawful for a licensing board to fail or refuse to line 23 make reasonable accommodation to an indi vidual’s mental or line 24 physical disability or medical condition.
line 25 (c) It shall be unla wful for an y licensing board, unless line 26 specifically acting in accordance with federal equal emplo yment line 27 opportunity guidelines or regulations approved by the council, to line 28 print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated an y line 29 publication, or to make any non-job-related inquiry, either verbal line 30 or through use of an application form, which e xpresses, directly line 31 or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to line 32 race, caste, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical line 33 disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, line 34 sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, reproductive line 35 health decisionmaking, or sexual orientation or any intent to make line 36 any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. Nothing in line 37 this subdivision shall prohibit an y licensing board from making, line 38 in connection with prospective licensure or certification, an inquiry line 39 as to, or a request for information re garding, the physical fitness line 40 of applicants if that inquiry or request for information is directly 95 SB 403 — 27 —
line 1 related and pertinent to the license or the licensed position the line 2 applicant is applying for. Nothing in this subdivision shall prohibit line 3 any licensing board, in connection with prospective examinations, line 4 licensure, or certification, from inviting individuals with physical line 5 or mental disabilities to request reasonable accommodations or line 6 from making inquiries related to reasonable accommodations. line 7 (d) It is unlawful for a licensing board to discriminate ag ainst line 8 any person because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or line 9 assisted in any proceeding under this part.
line 10 (e) It is unlawful for any licensing board to fail to keep records line 11 of applications for licensing or certification for a period of tw o line 12 years following the date of receipt of the applications. line 13 (f) As used in this section, “licensing board” means an y state line 14 board, agency, or authority in the Business, Consumer Services, line 15 and Housing Agency that has the authority to grant licenses or line 16 certificates which are prerequisites to emplo yment eligibility or line 17 professional status.
line 18 SEC. 14. Section 12955 of the Government Code is amended line 19 to read:
line 20 12955. It shall be unlawful:
line 21 (a) For the owner of any housing accommodation to discriminate line 22 against or harass an y person because of the race, caste, color , line 23 religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender e xpression, sexual line 24 orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, line 25 source of income, disability, veteran or military status, or genetic line 26 information of that person.
line 27 (b) For the owner of any housing accommodation to mak e or line 28 to cause to be made an y written or oral inquiry concerning the line 29 race, caste, color , religion, se x, gender, gender identity , gender line 30 expression, se xual orientation, marital status, national origin, line 31 ancestry, familial status, disability, veteran or military status, or line 32 genetic information of an y person seeking to purchase, rent, or line 33 lease any housing accommodation.
line 34 (c) For any person to mak e, print, or publish, or cause to be line 35 made, printed, or published any notice, statement, or advertisement, line 36 with respect to the sale or rental of a housing accommodation that line 37 indicates any preference, limitation, or discrimination based on line 38 race, caste, color , religion, se x, gender, gender identity , gender line 39 expression, se xual orientation, marital status, national origin, line 40 ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability , veteran or 95 — 28 — SB 403
line 1 military status, or genetic information or an intention to make that line 2 preference, limitation, or discrimination.
line 3 (d) For any person subject to the pro visions of Section 51 of line 4 the Civil Code, as that section applies to housing accommodations, line 5 to discriminate ag ainst any person on the basis of se x, gender, line 6 gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, color, race, line 7 caste, religion, ancestry , national origin, f amilial status, marital line 8 status, disability, genetic information, source of income, v eteran line 9 or military status, or on any other basis prohibited by that section. line 10 Selection preferences based on age, imposed in connection with line 11 a federally appro ved housing program, do not constitute age line 12 discrimination in housing.
line 13 (e) For any person, bank, mortgage company, or other financial line 14 institution that pro vides financial assistance for the purchase, line 15 refinance, or ganization, or construction of an y housing line 16 accommodation to discriminate ag ainst any person or group of line 17 persons because of the race, caste, color , religion, se x, gender, line 18 gender identity , gender e xpression, se xual orientation, marital line 19 status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, line 20 disability, veteran or military status, or genetic information in the line 21 terms, conditions, or privileges relating to the obtaining or use of line 22 that financial assistance.
line 23 (f) For any owner of housing accommodations to harass, evict, line 24 or otherwise discriminate against any person in the sale or rental line 25 of housing accommodations when the owner’s dominant purpose line 26 is retaliation against a person who has opposed practices unlawful line 27 under this section, informed law enforcement agencies of practices line 28 believed unlawful under this section, has testified or assisted in line 29 any proceeding under this part, or has aided or encouraged a person line 30 to exercise or enjoy the rights secured by this part. Nothing herein line 31 is intended to cause or permit the delay of an unla wful detainer line 32 action.
line 33 (g) For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the line 34 doing of an y of the acts or practices declared unla wful in this line 35 section, or to attempt to do so.
line 36 (h) For any person, for profit, to induce an y person to sell or line 37 rent an y dwelling by representations re garding the entry or line 38 prospective entry into the neighborhood of a person or persons of line 39 a particular race, caste, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, line 40 gender e xpression, se xual orientation, marital status, ancestry , 95 SB 403 — 29 —
line 1 disability, genetic information, source of income, f amilial status, line 2 veteran or military status, or national origin.
line 3 (i) (1) For any person or other or ganization or entity whose line 4 business involves real estate-related transactions to discriminate line 5 against any person in making a vailable a transaction, or in the line 6 terms and conditions of a transaction, because of race, caste, color, line 7 religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender e xpression, sexual line 8 orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry , source of line 9 income, familial status, disability , veteran or military status, or line 10 genetic information.
line 11 (2) For an y person or other entity whose b usiness includes line 12 performing appraisals, as defined in subdi vision (b) of Section line 13 11302 of the Business and Professions Code, of residential real line 14 property to discriminate ag ainst any person in making a vailable line 15 those services, or in the performance of those services, because of line 16 race, caste, color , religion, se x, gender, gender identity , gender line 17 expression, sexual orientation, familial status, source of income, line 18 disability, genetic information, v eteran or military status, or line 19 national origin.
line 20 (j) To deny a person access to, or membership or participation line 21 in, a multiple listing service, real estate brok erage organization, line 22 or other service because of race, caste, color, religion, sex, gender, line 23 gender identity , gender e xpression, se xual orientation, marital line 24 status, ancestry, disability, genetic information, f amilial status, line 25 source of income, veteran or military status, or national origin. line 26 (k) To otherwise mak e unavailable or den y a dwelling based line 27 on discrimination because of race, caste, color , religion, se x, line 28 gender, gender identity , gender e xpression, se xual orientation, line 29 familial status, source of income, disability, genetic information, line 30 veteran or military status, or national origin. line 31 (l) To discriminate through public or private land use practices, line 32 decisions, and authorizations because of race, caste, color, religion, line 33 sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, line 34 familial status, marital status, disability , genetic information, line 35 national origin, source of income, v eteran or military status, or line 36 ancestry. Discrimination includes, but is not limited to, restrictive line 37 covenants, zoning laws, denials of use permits, and other actions line 38 authorized under the Planning and Zoning La w (T itle 7 line 39 (commencing with Section 65000)), that mak e housing line 40 opportunities unavailable.
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line 1 Discrimination under this subdivision also includes the existence line 2 of a restrictive covenant, regardless of whether accompanied by a line 3 statement that the restrictive covenant is repealed or void. line 4 (m) As used in this section, “race, caste, color , religion, se x, line 5 gender, gender identity , gender e xpression, se xual orientation, line 6 marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of line 7 income, disability , v eteran or military status, or genetic line 8 information,” includes a perception that the person has any of those line 9 characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who line 10 has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics. line 11 (n) To use a financial or income standard in the rental of housing line 12 that fails to account for the aggregate income of persons residing line 13 together or proposing to reside together on the same basis as the line 14 aggregate income of married persons residing together or proposing line 15 to reside together.
line 16 (o) In instances where there is a go vernment rent subsidy , to line 17 use a financial or income standard in assessing eligibility for the line 18 rental of housing that is not based on the portion of the rent to be line 19 paid by the tenant.
line 20 (p) (1) For the purposes of this section, “source of income” line 21 means lawful, verifiable income paid directly to a tenant, or to a line 22 representative of a tenant, or paid to a housing owner or landlord line 23 on behalf of a tenant, including federal, state, or local public line 24 assistance, and federal, state, or local housing subsidies, including, line 25 but not limited to, federal housing assistance vouchers issued under line 26 Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. line 27 Sec. 1437f). “Source of income” includes a federal Department of line 28 Housing and Urban De velopment Veterans Affairs Supporti ve line 29 Housing voucher. For the purposes of this section, a housing owner line 30 or landlord is not considered a representati ve of a tenant unless line 31 the source of income is a federal Department of Housing and Urban line 32 Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher. line 33 (2) For the purposes of this section, it shall not constitute line 34 discrimination based on source of income to mak e a written or line 35 oral inquiry concerning the level or source of income. line 36 SEC. 15. Section 12955.8 of the Government Code is amended line 37 to read:
line 38 12955.8. For purposes of this article, in connection with line 39 unlawful practices:
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line 1 (a) Proof of an intentional violation of this article includes, but line 2 is not limited to, an act or f ailure to act that is otherwise covered line 3 by this part, that demonstrates an intent to discriminate in an y line 4 manner in violation of this part. A person intends to discriminate line 5 if race, caste, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender line 6 expression, se xual orientation, marital status, national origin, line 7 ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability , veteran or line 8 military status, or genetic information is a moti vating factor in line 9 committing a discriminatory housing practice e ven though other line 10 factors may ha ve also moti vated the practice. An intent to line 11 discriminate may be established by direct or circumstantial line 12 evidence.
line 13 (b) Proof of a violation causing a discriminatory effect is shown line 14 if an act or failure to act that is otherwise covered by this part, and line 15 that has the effect, regardless of intent, of unlawfully discriminating line 16 on the basis of race, caste, color , religion, se x, gender, gender line 17 identity, gender e xpression, se xual orientation, marital status, line 18 national origin, ancestry , f amilial status, source of income, line 19 disability, v eteran or military status, or genetic information. A line 20 business establishment whose action or inaction has an unintended line 21 discriminatory effect shall not be considered to ha ve committed line 22 an unlawful housing practice in violation of this part if the business line 23 establishment can establish that the action or inaction is necessary line 24 to the operation of the b usiness and ef fectively carries out the line 25 significant business need it is alleged to serve. In cases that do not line 26 involve a b usiness establishment, the person whose action or line 27 inaction has an unintended discriminatory ef fect shall not be line 28 considered to ha ve committed an unla wful housing practice in line 29 violation of this part if the person can establish that the action or line 30 inaction is necessary to achieve an important purpose sufficiently line 31 compelling to o verride the discriminatory ef fect and ef fectively line 32 carries out the purpose it is alleged to serve. line 33 (1) Any determination of a violation pursuant to this subdivision line 34 shall consider whether or not there are feasible alternati ves that line 35 would equally well or better accomplish the purpose adv anced line 36 with a less discriminatory effect.
line 37 (2) For purposes of this subdi vision, the term “b usiness line 38 establishment” shall have the same meaning as in Section 51 of line 39 the Civil Code.
95 — 32 — SB 403
line 1 SEC. 16. Section 12956.1 of the Government Code is amended line 2 to read:
line 3 12956.1. (a) As used in this section:
line 4 (1) “Association,” “go verning documents,” and “declaration” line 5 have the same meanings as set forth in Sections 4080, 4135, and line 6 4150 or Sections 6528, 6546, and 6552 of the Civil Code. line 7 (2) “Redaction” means the process of rerecording of a document line 8 that originally contained unlawful restrictive language, and when line 9 presented to the county recorder for rerecording, no longer contains line 10 the unlawful language or the unlawful language is masked so that line 11 it is not readable or visible.
line 12 (3) “Redacted” means the result of the rerecording of a document line 13 that originally contained unlawful restrictive language, and when line 14 presented to the county recorder for rerecording, no longer contains line 15 the unlawful language or the unlawful language is masked so that line 16 it is not readable or visible.
line 17 (b) (1) A county recorder, title company, escrow company, real line 18 estate broker, real estate agent, or association that provides a copy line 19 of a declaration, governing document, or deed to any person shall line 20 place a co ver page or stamp on the first page of the pre viously line 21 recorded document or documents stating, in at least 14-point line 22 boldface type, the following:
line 23
line 24 “If this document contains an y restriction based on age, race, line 25 caste, color , religion, se x, gender , gender identity , gender line 26 expression, se xual orientation, f amilial status, marital status, line 27 disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, national line 28 origin, source of income as defined in subdi vision (p) of Section line 29 12955, or ancestry, that restriction violates state and federal f air line 30 housing laws and is void, and may be removed pursuant to Section line 31 12956.2 of the Go vernment Code by submitting a “Restricti ve line 32 Covenant Modification” form, together with a copy of the attached line 33 document with the unla wful pro vision redacted to the county line 34 recorder’s office. The “Restrictive Covenant Modification” form line 35 can be obtained from the county recorder’ s office and may be line 36 available on its internet website. The form may also be a vailable line 37 from the party that pro vided you with this document. La wful line 38 restrictions under state and federal law on the age of occupants in line 39 senior housing or housing for older persons shall not be construed line 40 as restrictions based on familial status.”
95 SB 403 — 33 —
line 1
line 2 (2) The requirements of paragraph (1) shall not apply to line 3 documents being submitted for recordation to a county recorder. line 4 (3) A title compan y, escro w compan y, or association that line 5 delivers a cop y of a declaration, go verning document, or deed line 6 directly to a person who holds an ownership interest of record in line 7 property shall also pro vide a Restricti ve Covenant Modification line 8 form with procedural information for appropriate processing along line 9 with the document.
line 10 (c) Any person who records a document for the express purpose line 11 of adding a racially restrictive covenant is guilty of a misdemeanor. line 12 The county recorder shall not incur any liability for recording the line 13 document. Notwithstanding an y other pro vision of la w, a line 14 prosecution for a violation of this subdi vision shall commence line 15 within three years after the disco very of the recording of the line 16 document.
line 17 SEC. 17. Section 12956.2 of the Government Code is amended line 18 to read:
line 19 12956.2. (a) (1) A person who holds or is acquiring an line 20 ownership interest of record in property that the person belie ves line 21 is the subject of an unlawfully restrictive covenant in violation of line 22 subdivision ( l) of Section 12955 may record a document titled line 23 Restrictive Co venant Modification. A title compan y, escro w line 24 company, county recorder, real estate broker, real estate agent, or line 25 other person also may record the modification document provided line 26 for in this section. The county recorder may w aive the fee line 27 prescribed for recording and inde xing instruments pursuant to line 28 Section 27361 in the case of a Restrictive Covenant Modification line 29 document. The modification document shall include a complete line 30 copy of the original document containing the unlawfully restrictive line 31 language with the unla wfully restricti ve co venant language line 32 redacted.
line 33 (2) Beginning July 1, 2022, if a title company, escrow company, line 34 real estate broker, or real estate agent has actual knowledge that a line 35 declaration, governing document, or deed that is being directly line 36 delivered to a person who holds or is acquiring an o wnership line 37 interest in property includes a possible unla wfully restricti ve line 38 covenant, they shall notify the person who holds or is acquiring line 39 the o wnership interest in the property of the e xistence of that line 40 covenant and their ability to have it removed through the restrictive 95 — 34 — SB 403
line 1 covenant modification process. There shall be no presumption that line 2 a party providing a document has read the document or has actual line 3 knowledge of its content.
line 4 (3) Beginning July 1, 2022, if requested before the close of line 5 escrow, the title compan y or escro w company directly in volved line 6 in the pending transaction shall assist in the preparation of a line 7 Restrictive Covenant Modification pursuant to this section, b ut line 8 the title compan y or escro w compan y shall ha ve no liability line 9 associated with the recordation of a Restricti ve Co venant line 10 Modification that contains modifications not authorized by this line 11 section on behalf of the requester.
line 12 (b) (1) Before recording the Restrictive Covenant Modification line 13 document, the county recorder shall submit the modification line 14 document and the original document to the county counsel who line 15 shall determine whether the language in the original document line 16 contains an unlawful restriction based on age, race, caste, color , line 17 religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender e xpression, sexual line 18 orientation, f amilial status, marital status, disability , genetic line 19 information, veteran or military status, national origin, source of line 20 income as defined in subdivision (p) of Section 12955, or ancestry. line 21 The county counsel shall return the documents and inform the line 22 county recorder of its determination within a period of time line 23 specified in paragraph (2). The county recorder shall refuse to line 24 record the modification document if the county counsel or their line 25 designee finds that the original document does not contain an line 26 unlawful restriction as specified in this subdi vision or the line 27 modification document contains modifications not authorized by line 28 this section.
line 29 (2) For documents recorded pursuant to subdi vision (a), the line 30 period of time shall be a reasonable period of time, not to exceed line 31 three months, from the date the request for recordation is made, line 32 unless extraordinary circumstances apply.
line 33 (c) If a person requests to record a modification document, that line 34 person shall pro vide a return address in order for the county line 35 recorder to notify this person of the action tak en by the county line 36 counsel on the respective property. The notice required pursuant line 37 to this subdivision may be made on a postcard mailed by first-class line 38 mail.
line 39 (d) The modification document shall be inde xed in the same line 40 manner as the original document being modified. It shall contain 95 SB 403 — 35 —
line 1 a recording reference to the original document in the form of a line 2 book and page or instrument number, and date of the recording. line 3 (e) Subject to covenants, conditions, and restrictions that were line 4 recorded after the recording of the original document that contains line 5 the unla wfully restricti ve language and subject to co venants, line 6 conditions, and restrictions that will be recorded after the line 7 Restrictive Co venant Modification, the restrictions in the line 8 Restrictive Covenant Modification, once recorded, are the only line 9 restrictions having effect on the property. The effective date of the line 10 terms and conditions of the modification document shall be the line 11 same as the effective date of the original document. line 12 (f) A Restrictive Covenant Modification form shall be prepared line 13 and accepted for submission and recordation in all counties in line 14 substantially the following form:
line 15
line 16 RESTRICTIVE COVENANT MODIFICATION:
line 17 The following referenced document contains a restriction based line 18 on age, race, caste, color , religion, se x, gender, gender identity , line 19 gender expression, sexual orientation, familial status, marital status, line 20 disability, veteran or military status, genetic information, national line 21 origin, source of income as defined in subdi vision (p) of Section line 22 12955 of the Government Code, or ancestry, that violates state and line 23 federal fair housing laws and is void. Pursuant to Section 12956.2 line 24 of the Government Code, this document is being recorded solely line 25 for the purpose of redacting and eliminating that restricti ve line 26 covenant as shown on page(s) ___ of the document recorded on line 27 ___________(date) in book _______ and page _____ or instrument line 28 number _________ of the official records of the County of line 29 __________________, State of California.
line 30 Attached hereto is a true, correct and complete cop y of the line 31 document referenced above, with the unlawful restrictive covenant line 32 redacted.
line 33 This modification document shall be indexed in the same manner line 34 as the original document being modified, pursuant to subdivision line 35 (d) of Section 12956.2 of the Government Code.
line 36 The effective date of the terms and conditions of the modification line 37 document shall be the same as the ef fective date of the original line 38 document.
line 39 (Signature of submitting party)
95 — 36 — SB 403
line 1 _______ County Counsel, or their designee, pursuant to line 2 paragraph (1) of subdi vision (b) of Section 12956.2 of the line 3 Government Code, hereby states that it has determined that the line 4 original document referenced above contains an unlawful restriction line 5 and this modification may be recorded.
line 6 Or
line 7 ________County Counsel, or their designee, pursuant to line 8 paragraph (1) of subdi vision (b) of Section 12956.2 of the line 9 Government Code, finds that the original document does not line 10 contain an unla wful restriction, or the modification document line 11 contains modifications not authorized, and this modification may line 12 not be recorded.
line 13 County Counsel
line 14 By:
line 15 Date:
line 16
line 17 (g) The county recorder shall mak e a vailable to the public line 18 Restrictive Covenant Modification forms onsite in an appropriately line 19 designated area, or online on the county recorder’s internet website, line 20 either of which shall be deemed to satisfy the requirement of line 21 paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdi vision (b) of Section 12956.1 to line 22 provide a Restrictive Covenant Modification form if the procedural line 23 information for appropriate processing is attached to the form. line 24 Those forms shall permit multiple submissions on behalf of line 25 different homes and for processing homes in batches with respect line 26 to a modification document that af fects multiple homes or lots. line 27 The forms shall also permit the submission of a Restricti ve line 28 Covenant Modification form for a homeo wners’ association or a line 29 common interest de velopment to modify co venants, conditions, line 30 and restrictions that will correct unla wfully restrictive covenants line 31 for multiple dwellings within a subdivision.
line 32 (h) If a person causes to be recorded a modified document line 33 pursuant to this section that contains modifications not authorized line 34 by this section, the county recorder shall not incur liability for line 35 recording the document. The liability that may result from the line 36 unauthorized recordation is the sole responsibility of the person line 37 who caused the modified recordation as pro vided in subdivision line 38 (a).
line 39 (i) (1) A Restrictive Covenant Modification that is appro ved line 40 by county counsel or their designee and recorded pursuant to this 95 SB 403 — 37 —
line 1 section removes the illegal covenant from all property affected by line 2 the original covenant regardless of who submits the modification. line 3 (2) This section does not affect the obligations of the governing line 4 board of a common interest de velopment as defined in Section line 5 4100 or 6534 of the Ci vil Code if the board of directors of that line 6 common interest de velopment is subject to the requirements of line 7 subdivision (b) of Section 4225 or of subdi vision (b) of Section line 8 6606 of the Civil Code.
line 9 (j) For purposes of this section, “redaction” and “redacted” mean line 10 the same as defined in Section 12956.1.
line 11 SEC. 18. Section 12993 of the Government Code is amended line 12 to read:
line 13 12993. (a) The pro visions of this part shall be construed line 14 liberally for the accomplishment of the purposes of this part. This line 15 part does not repeal any of the provisions of civil rights law or of line 16 any other la w of this state relating to discrimination because of line 17 race, caste, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical line 18 disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, line 19 marital status, se x, age, reproducti ve health decisionmaking, or line 20 sexual orientation, unless those provisions provide less protection line 21 to the enumerated classes of persons covered under this part. line 22 (b) The pro visions in this part relating to discrimination in line 23 employment on account of sex or medical condition do not affect line 24 the operation of the terms or conditions of any bona fide retirement, line 25 pension, employee benefit, or insurance plan, provided the terms line 26 or conditions are in accordance with customary and reasonable or line 27 actuarially sound underwriting practices.
line 28 (c) While it is the intention of the Legislature to occupy the field line 29 of re gulation of discrimination in emplo yment and housing line 30 encompassed by the provisions of this part, exclusive of all other line 31 laws banning discrimination in emplo yment and housing by an y line 32 city, city and county, county, or other political subdivision of the line 33 state, this part does not limit or restrict the application of Section line 34 51 of the Civil Code.
O
95 — 38 — SB 403