SB 16: Civil rights: discrimination: enforcement.

The Unruh Civil Rights Act generally prohibits business establishments from discriminating on specified bases. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (act) prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on specified bases and provides procedures for enforcement by the Civil Rights Department. Existing law specifies that while it is the intent of the Legislature that the act occupy the field of regulation of discrimination in employment and housing, nothing in the act shall be construed to limit or restrict the application of the Unruh Civil Rights Act.

This bill would would, commencing on January 1, 2025, also specify that nothing in the act shall be construed to limit or restrict efforts by local entities to enforce state law prohibiting discrimination against classes of persons covered by the act in employment and housing, provided that the enforcement complies with regulations governing local enforcement of the act that the bill would require the Civil Rights Department to promulgate by____. The bill would require those regulations, at a minimum, to ensure consistent application of employment and housing discrimination laws across the state, protect complainants against inadvertent loss of federal or state legal claims, and avoid duplication of investigatory work. work, and minimize any possible loss of federal funding for the Civil Rights Departments work.