AB 1383: Veterans’ preferences: voluntary policy.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2016-06-13
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of that person. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy, to be applied uniformly to hiring decisions, to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The bill would revise the existing veteran status provision in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to remove references to discrimination on account of sex and to Vietnam-era veterans, and would, instead, provide that nothing in that act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act. The bill would prohibit a veterans preference employment policy from being established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of a protected classification, as specified.
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of that person. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy policy, to be applied uniformly to hiring decisions, to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The bill would revise the existing veteran status provision in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to remove references to discrimination on account of sex and to Vietnam-era veterans, and would, instead, provide that nothing in that act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
The bill would incorporate changes to Section 12940 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and AB 987 which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is enacted last.
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of that person. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The bill would revise the existing veteran status provision in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to remove references to discrimination on account of sex and to Vietnam-era veterans, and would, instead, provide that nothing in that act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
The bill would incorporate changes to Section 12940 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and AB 987 which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, and this bill is enacted last.
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of that person. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans preference pursuant to the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act would become operative on an unspecified date in 2016. The bill would provide that nothing in revise the existing veteran status provision in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act to remove references to discrimination on account of sex and to Vietnam-era veterans, and would, instead, provide that nothing in that act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of that person. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article the bill, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act would become operative on an unspecified date in 2016. The bill would provide that nothing in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of that person. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides that nothing in that act relating to discrimination on account of sex affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions. enact the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy to give a voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee. The bill would provide that the granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, the antidiscrimination provisions of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act would become operative on an unspecified date in 2016. The bill would provide that nothing in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act relating to discrimination affects the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or discharge a person from employment or a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of that person.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958). A veterans preference employment policy shall not be established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification in this subdivision.
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(4)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(m)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(2)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 2.Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958) is added to Chapter 6 of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:3.Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policies12958.This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
12958.1.As used in this article:
(a)DD 214 means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service.
(b)Private employer means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees.
(c)Veteran means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge.
(d)Veterans preference employment policy means a private employers voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
12958.2.(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a private employer may establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy, which shall be applied uniformly to hiring decisions.
(b)An employer with a veterans preference employment policy may require that a veteran submit a DD 214 to be eligible for the preference.
(c)The granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, this chapter.
(d)The Department of Veterans Affairs shall assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the establishment or use of a veterans preference employment policy for the purpose of discriminating against the an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification in subdivision (a) of Section 12940.
It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(m)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 1.5.Section 12940 of the Government Code is amended to read:12940.It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(4)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(m)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(2)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SECTION 1.Section 12940 of the Government Code is amended to read:12940.It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of sex shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or against members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant, applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability or disability, physical disability disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that it the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories, which histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code that Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)The provisions of this subdivision are This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(4)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(m)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(2)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 2.Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958) is added to Chapter 6 of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:3.Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policies12958.This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
12958.1.As used in this article:
(a)DD 214 means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service.
(b)Private employer means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees.
(c)Veteran means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge.
(d)Veterans preference employment policy means a private employers voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
12958.2.(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a private employer may establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy. policy, which shall be applied uniformly to hiring decisions.
(b)An employer with a veterans preference employment policy may require that a veteran submit a DD 214 to be eligible for the preference.
(c)The granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, this chapter.
(d)The Department of Veterans Affairs shall assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
(e)Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the establishment or use of a veterans preference employment policy for the purpose of discriminating against the employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification in subdivision (a) of Section 12940.
SEC. 3.Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 12940 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 987. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, (2) each bill amends Section 12940 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 987, in which case Section 1 of this bill shall not become operative.
It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(m)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 1.5.Section 12940 of the Government Code is amended to read:12940.It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of sex shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against any employer or against members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant, applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability or disability, physical disability disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that it the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories, which histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code that Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)The provisions of this subdivision are This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(4)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(m)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(2)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to, in addition to the employee protections provided pursuant to subdivision (h), retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting accommodation under this subdivision, regardless of whether the request was granted.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 2.Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958) is added to Chapter 6 of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:3.Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policies12958.This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
12958.1.As used in this article:
(a)DD 214 means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service.
(b)Private employer means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees.
(c)Veteran means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge.
(d)Veterans preference employment policy means a private employers voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
12958.2.(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a private employer may establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy.
(b)An employer with a veterans preference employment policy may require that a veteran submit a DD 214 to be eligible for the preference.
(c)The granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, this chapter.
(d)The Department of Veterans Affairs shall assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
SEC. 3.Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 12940 of the Government Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 987. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2016, (2) each bill amends Section 12940 of the Government Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 987, in which case Section 1 of this bill shall not become operative.
It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(m)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 2.Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958) is added to Chapter 6 of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:3.Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policies12958.This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
12958.1.As used in this article:
(a)DD 214 means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service.
(b)Private employer means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees.
(c)Veteran means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge.
(d)Veterans preference employment policy means a private employers voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
12958.2.(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a private employer may establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy.
(b)An employer with a veterans preference employment policy may require that a veteran submit a DD 214 to be eligible for the preference.
(c)The granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, this chapter.
(d)The Department of Veterans Affairs shall assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
12958.3.This article shall become operative on ____, 2016.
It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(m)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 2.Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958) is added to Chapter 6 of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:3.Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policies12958.This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
12958.1.As used in this article:
(a)DD 214 means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service.
(b)Private employer means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees.
(c)Veteran means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge.
(d)Veterans preference employment policy means a private employers voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
12958.2.(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a private employer may establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy.
(b)An employer with a veterans preference employment policy may require that a veteran submit a DD 214 to be eligible for the preference.
(c)The granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article article, in and of itself, shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, this chapter.
(d)The Department of Veterans Affairs shall assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
12958.3.This article shall become operative on ____, 2016.
It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of sex shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans preference employment policy established in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958).
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members, any employer, or any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)This subdivision is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(m)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
SEC. 2.Article 3 (commencing with Section 12958) is added to Chapter 6 of Part 2.8 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:3.Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policies12958.This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Voluntary Veterans Preference Employment Policy Act.
12958.1.As used in this article:
(a)DD 214 means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service.
(b)Private employer means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees.
(c)Veteran means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge.
(d)Veterans preference employment policy means a private employers voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
12958.2.(a)Notwithstanding any other law, a private employer may establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy.
(b)An employer with a veterans preference employment policy may require that a veteran submit a DD 214 to be eligible for the preference.
(c)The granting of a veterans preference pursuant to this article shall be deemed not to violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, this chapter.
(d)The Department of Veterans Affairs shall assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
12958.3.This article shall become operative on ____, 2016.
It is an unlawful employment practice, unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification, or, except where based upon applicable security regulations established by the United States or the State of California:
(a)For an employer, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to refuse to hire or employ the person or to refuse to select the person for a training program leading to employment, or to bar or to discharge the person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against the person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment.
(1)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee with a physical or mental disability, or subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee with a physical or mental disability, where the employee, because of his or her physical or mental disability, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger his or her health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(2)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to hire or discharging an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties even with reasonable accommodations, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations. Nothing in this part shall subject an employer to any legal liability resulting from the refusal to employ or the discharge of an employee who, because of the employees medical condition, is unable to perform his or her essential duties, or cannot perform those duties in a manner that would not endanger the employees health or safety or the health or safety of others even with reasonable accommodations.
(3)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of marital status shall do either of the following:
(A)Affect the right of an employer to reasonably regulate, for reasons of supervision, safety, security, or morale, the working of spouses in the same department, division, or facility, consistent with the rules and regulations adopted by the commission.
(B)Prohibit bona fide health plans from providing additional or greater benefits to employees with dependents than to those employees without or with fewer dependents.
(4)Nothing in this part relating to discrimination on account of sex shall affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans.
(5)(A)This part does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. Promotions within the existing staff, hiring or promotion on the basis of experience and training, rehiring on the basis of seniority and prior service with the employer, or hiring under an established recruiting program from high schools, colleges, universities, or trade schools do not, in and of themselves, constitute unlawful employment practices.
(B)The provisions of this part relating to discrimination on the basis of age do not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the person becomes eligible for Medicare health benefits. This subparagraph applies to all retiree health benefit plans and contractual provisions or practices concerning retiree health benefits and health care reimbursement plans in effect on or after January 1, 2011.
(b)For a labor organization, because of the 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, or military and veteran status of any person, to exclude, expel, or restrict from its membership the person, or to provide only second-class or segregated membership or to discriminate against any person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person in the election of officers of the labor organization or in the selection of the labor organizations staff or to discriminate in any way against any of its members or against members, any employer employer, or against any person employed by an employer.
(c)For any person to discriminate against any person in the selection, termination, training, or other terms or treatment of that person in any apprenticeship training program, any other training program leading to employment, an unpaid internship, or another limited duration program to provide unpaid work experience for that person because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
(d)For any employer or employment agency to print or circulate or cause to be printed or circulated any publication, or to make any nonjob-related inquiry of an employee or applicant, either verbal or through use of an application form, that expresses, directly or indirectly, any limitation, specification, or discrimination as to 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, or military and veteran status, or any intent to make any such limitation, specification, or discrimination. This part does not prohibit an employer or employment agency from inquiring into the age of an applicant, applicant or from specifying age limitations, where the law compels or provides for that action.
(e)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (3), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an applicant, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an applicant, to make any inquiry whether an applicant has a mental disability or disability, physical disability disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may inquire into the ability of an applicant to perform job-related functions and may respond to an applicants request for reasonable accommodation.
(3)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require a medical or psychological examination or make a medical or psychological inquiry of a job applicant after an employment offer has been made but prior to the commencement of employment duties, provided that the examination or inquiry is job related and consistent with business necessity and that all entering employees in the same job classification are subject to the same examination or inquiry.
(f)(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), for any employer or employment agency to require any medical or psychological examination of an employee, to make any medical or psychological inquiry of an employee, to make any inquiry whether an employee has a mental disability, physical disability, or medical condition, or to make any inquiry regarding the nature or severity of a physical disability, mental disability, or medical condition.
(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an employer or employment agency may require any examinations or inquiries that it the employer or employment agency can show to be job related and consistent with business necessity. An employer or employment agency may conduct voluntary medical examinations, including voluntary medical histories, which histories that are part of an employee health program available to employees at that worksite.
(g)For any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to harass, discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has made a report pursuant to Section 11161.8 of the Penal Code that Code, which prohibits retaliation against hospital employees who report suspected patient abuse by health facilities or community care facilities.
(h)For any employer, labor organization, employment agency, or person to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because the person has opposed any practices forbidden under this part or because the person has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this part.
(i)For any person to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden under this part, or to attempt to do so.
(j)(1)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program program, or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract. Harassment of an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract by an employee, other than an agent or supervisor, shall be unlawful if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of this conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. An employer may also be responsible for the acts of nonemployees, with respect to sexual harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid interns or volunteers, or persons providing services pursuant to a contract in the workplace, where the employer, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. In reviewing cases involving the acts of nonemployees, the extent of the employers control and any other legal responsibility that the employer may have with respect to the conduct of those nonemployees shall be considered. An entity shall take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring. Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment.
(2)The provisions of this This subdivision are is declaratory of existing law, except for the new duties imposed on employers with regard to harassment.
(3)An employee of an entity subject to this subdivision is personally liable for any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee, regardless of whether the employer or covered entity knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
(4)(A)For purposes of this subdivision only, employer means any person regularly employing one or more persons or regularly receiving the services of one or more persons providing services pursuant to a contract, or any person acting as an agent of an employer, directly or indirectly, the state, or any political or civil subdivision of the state, and cities. The definition of employer in subdivision (d) of Section 12926 applies to all provisions of this section other than this subdivision.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for purposes of this subdivision, employer does not include a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, except as provided in Section 12926.2.
(C)For purposes of this subdivision, harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire.
(5)For purposes of this subdivision, a person providing services pursuant to a contract means a person who meets all of the following criteria:
(A)The person has the right to control the performance of the contract for services and discretion as to the manner of performance.
(B)The person is customarily engaged in an independently established business.
(C)The person has control over the time and place the work is performed, supplies the tools and instruments used in the work, and performs work that requires a particular skill not ordinarily used in the course of the employers work.
(k)For an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program, or any training program leading to employment, to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
(l)(1)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select a person for a training program leading to employment or to bar or to discharge a person from employment or from a training program leading to employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of a conflict between the persons religious belief or observance and any employment requirement, unless the employer or other entity covered by this part demonstrates that it has explored any available reasonable alternative means of accommodating the religious belief or observance, including the possibilities of excusing the person from those duties that conflict with his or her religious belief or observance or permitting those duties to be performed at another time or by another person, but is unable to reasonably accommodate the religious belief or observance without undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, on the conduct of the business of the employer or other entity covered by this part. Religious belief or observance, as used in this section, includes, but is not limited to, observance of a Sabbath or other religious holy day or days, reasonable time necessary for travel prior and subsequent to a religious observance, and religious dress practice and religious grooming practice as described in subdivision (q) of Section 12926. This subdivision shall also apply to an apprenticeship training program, an unpaid internship, and any other program to provide unpaid experience for a person in the workplace or industry.
(2)An accommodation of an individuals religious dress practice or religious grooming practice is not reasonable if the accommodation requires segregation of the individual from other employees or the public.
(3)An accommodation is not required under this subdivision if it would result in a violation of this part or any other law prohibiting discrimination or protecting civil rights, including subdivision (b) of Section 51 of the Civil Code and Section 11135 of this code.
(m)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to make reasonable accommodation for the known physical or mental disability of an applicant or employee. Nothing in this subdivision or in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) shall be construed to require an accommodation that is demonstrated by the employer or other covered entity to produce undue hardship, as defined in subdivision (u) of Section 12926, to its operation.
(n)For an employer or other entity covered by this part to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee or applicant to determine effective reasonable accommodations, if any, in response to a request for reasonable accommodation by an employee or applicant with a known physical or mental disability or known medical condition.
(o)For an employer or other entity covered by this part, to subject, directly or indirectly, any employee, applicant, or other person to a test for the presence of a genetic characteristic.
(p)Nothing in this section shall be interpreted as preventing the ability of employers to identify members of the military or veterans for purposes of awarding a veterans preference as permitted by law.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Jun 1, 2015 | Read second time. Ordered to third reading. |
| Jun 21, 2016 | In committee: Set, final hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted. |
| Jun 13, 2016 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| May 4, 2016 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| Jul 14, 2015 | In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Jul 2, 2015 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Jun 30, 2015 | In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. |
| Jun 19, 2015 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD. |
| Jun 11, 2015 | Referred to Com. on JUD. |
| Jun 2, 2015 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 0. Page 1814.) |
| Jun 2, 2015 | Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. |
| Jun 2, 2015 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| Feb 27, 2015 | Introduced. To print. |
| May 28, 2015 | Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. |
| May 28, 2015 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 17. Noes 0.) (May 28). |
| May 6, 2015 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Apr 23, 2015 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 22). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 21, 2015 | Re-referred to Com. on L. & E. |
| Apr 20, 2015 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. Read second time and amended. |
| Apr 6, 2015 | Re-referred to Com. on L. & E. |
| Mar 26, 2015 | Referred to Com. on L. & E. |
| Mar 26, 2015 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on L. & E. Read second time and amended. |
| Mar 2, 2015 | Read first time. |
| Mar 1, 2015 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 31. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2016 | [Final] hearing set for [06-22-2016]: Failed passage in Committee. Reconsideration granted | Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary |
Passed |
|
| Jun 21, 2016 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary |
Failed |
|
| Jun 2, 2015 | AB 1383 JONES Assembly Third Reading | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| May 28, 2015 | Do pass as amended. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 22, 2015 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly Standing Committee on Labor and Employment |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| American Legion-Department of California | ** Support | Jun 2, 2015 |
| AMVETS-Department of California | ** Support | Jun 2, 2015 |
| California Association Of County Veterans Service Officers | ** Support | Jun 2, 2015 |
| California Societies for Human Resource Management | * Support | Jun 21, 2016 |
| California State Commanders Veterans Council | ** Support | Jun 2, 2015 |
| California State Council of SHRM | ** Support | Jun 2, 2015 |
| VFW, Department of California | ** Support | Jun 2, 2015 |
| Vietnam Veterans Of America, California State Council | ** Support | Jun 2, 2015 |
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2015-2016 Regular Session
Bill No: AB 1383 (Author:Jones)
Version: June 13, 2016
Hearing Date: June 21, 2016
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
Consultant: ME
SUBJECT
Veterans preferences: voluntary policy
DESCRIPTION
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act and authorize a private employer to establish a veterans’ preference employment policy.
BACKGROUND
Various statutes, such as the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Unruh Civil Rights Act, prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation and services provided by business establishments on the basis of specified personal characteristics such as sex, race, color, national origin, religion, and disability. Over time, these statutes have been amended to include other characteristics such as medical conditions, marital status, and sexual orientation. Also over time, other statutes were amended to reflect the state’s public policy against discrimination in all forms.
The Federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides employment discrimination protection for a person who is an active duty military or a veteran and has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service (United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, the United States National Guard). (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.) The California Military and Veterans Code incorporates this discrimination protection, and further extends it to members or veterans of the California National Guard. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
AB 556 (Salas, Chap. 691, Stats. of 2013) incorporated into FEHA protection from discrimination and retaliation for military employees and veterans. This bill seeks to further protect veterans from employment discrimination, as well as protect private employers who give veteran preference in employment decisions, by enacting the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing federal law, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), prohibits discrimination and retaliation against active duty military and veterans on the basis of the person’s military membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.)
Existing federal law prohibits an employer’s use of the employee’s military membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation as a motivating factor as cause for an adverse employment decision against the employee. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.)
Existing federal law, the USERRA, provides that any person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to specified reemployment rights and benefits and other employment benefits of this chapter. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4312.)
Existing law prohibits discrimination by a person, public entity, or official against any officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the military or naval forces because of that membership, and prohibits prejudice or injury by any person, employer, or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm with respect to that member’s employment, position or status or be denied or disqualified for employment by virtue of the membership. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law prohibits an employer or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm, or other person, from: (1) discharging any person from employment because of the performance of any ordered military duty or training or by reason of being an officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the military or naval forces of this state; (2) preventing that person from performing any military service or from attending any military encampment or place of drill or instruction he or she may be called upon to perform or attend by proper authority; (3) using prejudice or harm against an employee in any manner in his or her employment, position, or status by reason of the employee’s performance of military service or duty or attendance at military encampments or places of drill or instruction; or (4) dissuading, preventing, or stopping any person from enlistment or accepting a warrant or commission in the California National Guard or Naval Militia by threat or injury to the employee in respect to his or her employment, position, status, trade, or business because of enlistment or acceptance of a warrant or commission. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law prohibits a private employer or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm, or other person, from restricting or terminating any collateral benefit for employees by reason of an employee’s temporary incapacitation (any period of incapacitation of 52 weeks or less) incident to duty in the National Guard or Naval Militia. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law provides that a violation of the above state employment protections is a misdemeanor, and that any person violating any of these provisions is liable for actual damages and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the injured party. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law provides that a covered employee has an absolute right to be restored to the former office or position and status formerly had by him or her in the same locality and in the same office, board, commission, agency, or institution of the public agency upon the termination of temporary military duty. If the office or position has been eliminated during the employee’s absence, the employee must be reinstated to a position of like seniority, status, and pay if a position exists, or if no position exists, the employee will have the same rights and privileges that he or she would have had if he or she had occupied the position when it ceased to exist and had not taken temporary military leave of absence. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 395.)
Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of various characteristics, including military and veteran status, defined as a member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, the United States National Guard, and the California National Guard. (Gov. Code Sec. 12920 et seq.)
Existing law provides that gender discrimination protection under FEHA does not affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. (Gov. Code Sec. 12920(a)(4).)
This bill would expand the employer’s right to give special consideration to all veterans and authorize the employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans’ preference employment policy, as specified, and makes clear that a veterans’ preference employment policy shall not be established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act and authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans’ preference employment policy, which shall be applied uniformly to hiring decisions.
This bill would authorize that employer to require that a veteran submit a DD 214 form to be eligible for the preference. (A DD 214 is a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty issued by the United States Department of Defense upon a military service member’s retirement, separation, or discharge from active-duty military.)
This bill would specify that the granting of a veterans’ preference, in and of itself, would be deemed to not violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, FEHA.
This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
This bill would provide the following definitions:
- “DD 214” means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service;
- “private employer” means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees;
- “veteran” means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge; and
- “veterans’ preference employment policy” means a private employer’s voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
This bill provides that nothing in Voluntary Veteran’s Preference Employment Policy Act shall be construed to authorize the establishment or use of a veterans’ preference employment policy for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification under FEHA.
This bill also would make technical and conforming changes to various code sections and contains double-jointing language to address a chaptering out issue with AB 987 (Levine, 2015).
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
Currently[,] California already has a veteran’s preference exception in Gov[ernment] Code 12940(a)(4). The problem with the existing law is that it is arguably outdated and narrow. In its current state, this veteran’s preference exception only applies to Vietnam War era veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination claims. This is problematic because the amount of Vietnam War era veterans who are looking to utilize this preference exception is steadily declining due to the fact that many of these veterans are no longer searching for employment. Also[,] it omits any veteran that did not serve in the Vietnam War era and clearly limits the amount of people who can use this veteran’s preference.
This bill corrects an outdated law, which only allows for a business to create a preference for Vietnam War era veterans. While the original legislation was relevant when first adopted, the existing law is now lacking because it only provides preference to Vietnam War era veterans, and does not encompass all veterans.
2. Establishing Veterans preference protection
Existing law provides that sex discrimination protections provided under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) do not affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam era veterans. (Gov. Code Sec. 12940(a)(4).) This bill would provide that all of the discrimination protections provided under FEHA would not affect a private employer’s right to select a veteran over another applicant. This bill would also expand an employer’s right to give special consideration to all veterans and authorize the employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans’ preference employment policy, as specified. The author argues that existing FEHA protections are outdated and do not properly provide for hiring preference to all veterans, not just Vietnam-era veterans.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in support, states that this bill would “establish a voluntary preference for employers to grant a veteran in hiring. This voluntary preference would expand the veteran’s preference exception to all U.S. veterans, regardless of when they served. . . . [Human Resource] professionals are keenly aware of the difficulty some veterans face when searching for employment and SHRM and our affiliate, the California State Council of SHRM (CalSHRM), (and many businesses and veteran groups) have been collaborating to assist returning veterans gain employment in our state. We believe that allowing an employer to exercise a voluntary hiring preference exception to all veterans is one small way we can thank them for their service to our country.” (Emphasis in original.)
The FEHA provision authorizing veteran preference over gender, and Vietnam-era veteran preference over all other veterans, was established in 1981. Although FEHA has been amended numerous times in the past 34 years, this veteran preference subdivision was not updated other than to make a minor revision to change “Vietnam era” to “Vietnam-era.” (AB 1814 (Buchanan, Chapter 130, Statutes of 2010).) Accordingly, this bill seeks to update veteran preference under FEHA to encompass all of the veterans of the U.S. that have served since the veteran preference protection was enacted, as well those who serve the country in the future. Notably, every other FEHA characteristic protected from discrimination (race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, and sexual orientation) is a characteristic that a veteran may have – no other characteristic encompasses all of the other categories. Arguably, it is appropriate, as a matter of public policy, to provide an overriding veteran employment preference for individuals who have served the country.
Further, this bill provides an appropriate balance for other applicants or employees that may be affected when a veteran is hired over the applicant or employee. This would require the private employer, who opts to provide veteran preference in hiring decisions, to establish and maintain a written veterans’ preference employment policy. In this way, other applicants or employees would be made aware of the employer’s hiring policy. In the absence of such written policy, the employer may be liable for discrimination against another employee or applicant. Moreover, to address concern that veteran’s preference policy created under this bill could be used by an employer as a pretext in order to discriminate against the other protected classes under FEHA, the bill contains provisions that clearly establish that:
- a veterans’ preference policy shall not be established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification; and
- nothing in the bill shall be construed to authorize the establishment or use of a veterans’ preference employment policy for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification.
Support: American Legion-Department of California; AMVETS-Department of California; California Association of County Veterans Service Officers; California State Commanders Veterans Council; Military Officers Association of America, California Council of Chapters; Society for Human Resource Management; VFW-Department of California; Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition: None Known
HISTORY
Source: California State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management
Related Pending Legislation: None Known
Prior Legislation:
AB 987 (Levine, Chapter 122, Statutes of 2015) makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer or other covered entity to retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person for requesting an accommodation for physical or mental disability or religious belief or observance, regardless of whether the request was granted.
AB 556 (Salas, Ch. 691, Stats. 2013) See Background.
AB 1814 (Buchanan, Ch. 130, Stats. 2010) See Comment 2.
SB 36 (Baca, Ch. 201, Stats. 1999) requires any city, county, or city and county, general law or chartered, when it has established a civil service system, to implement a veterans’ preference system, or adopt a resolution identifying reasons that the local agency does not do so.
SB 1150 (Fletcher and Burns, Ch. 123, Stats. 1945) requires military veteran preference on civil service employment lists.
Prior Vote:
Assembly Floor (Ayes 77, Noes 0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 17, Noes 0)
Assembly Labor and Employment Committee (Ayes 7, Noes 0)
**************
AB 1383 (Jones)
Page 7 of 7
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2015-2016 Regular Session
AB 1383 (Jones)
Version: June 19, 2015
Hearing Date: July 14, 2015
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
TMW
SUBJECT
Veterans preferences: voluntary policy
DESCRIPTION
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act and authorize a private employer to establish a veteran’s preference employment policy.
BACKGROUND
Various statutes, such as the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Unruh Civil Rights Act, prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation and services provided by business establishments on the basis of specified personal characteristics such as sex, race, color, national origin, religion, and disability. Over time, these statutes have been amended to include other characteristics such as medical conditions, marital status, and sexual orientation. Also over time, other statutes were amended to reflect the state’s public policy against discrimination in all forms.
The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides employment discrimination protection for a person who is an active duty military or a veteran and has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service (United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, the United States National Guard). (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.) The California Military and Veterans Code incorporates this discrimination protection, and further extends it to members or veterans of the California National Guard. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
AB 556 (Salas, Chapter 691, Statutes of 2013) incorporated into FEHA protection from discrimination and retaliation for military employees and veterans. This bill seeks to further protect veterans from employment discrimination, as well as protect private employers who give veteran preference in employment decisions, by enacting the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing federal law, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), prohibits discrimination and retaliation against active duty military and veterans on the basis of the person’s military membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.)
Existing federal law prohibits an employer’s use of the employee’s military membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation as a motivating factor as cause for an adverse employment decision against the employee. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.)
Existing federal law, the USERRA, provides that any person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to specified reemployment rights and benefits and other employment benefits of this chapter. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4312.)
Existing law prohibits discrimination by a person, public entity, or official against any officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the military or naval forces because of that membership, and prohibits prejudice or injury by any person, employer, or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm with respect to that member’s employment, position or status or be denied or disqualified for employment by virtue of the membership. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law prohibits an employer or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm, or other person, from: (1) discharging any person from employment because of the performance of any ordered military duty or training or by reason of being an officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the military or naval forces of this state; (2) preventing that person from performing any military service or from attending any military encampment or place of drill or instruction he or she may be called upon to perform or attend by proper authority; (3) using prejudice or harm against an employee in any manner in his or her employment, position, or status by reason of the employee’s performance of military service or duty or attendance at military encampments or places of drill or instruction; or (4) dissuading, preventing, or stopping any person from enlistment or accepting a warrant or commission in the California National Guard or Naval Militia by threat or injury to the employee in respect to his or her employment, position, status, trade, or business because of enlistment or acceptance of a warrant or commission. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law prohibits a private employer or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm, or other person, from restricting or terminating any collateral benefit for employees by reason of an employee’s temporary incapacitation (any period of incapacitation of 52 weeks or less) incident to duty in the National Guard or Naval Militia. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law provides that a violation of the above state employment protections is a misdemeanor, and that any person violating any of these provisions is liable for actual damages and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the injured party. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law provides that a covered employee has an absolute right to be restored to the former office or position and status formerly had by him or her in the same locality and in the same office, board, commission, agency, or institution of the public agency upon the termination of temporary military duty. If the office or position has been eliminated during the employee’s absence, the employee must be reinstated to a position of like seniority, status, and pay if a position exists, or if no position exists, the employee will have the same rights and privileges that he or she would have had if he or she had occupied the position when it ceased to exist and had not taken temporary military leave of absence. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 395.)
Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of various characteristics, including military and veteran status, defined as a member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, the United States National Guard, and the California National Guard. (Gov. Code Sec. 12920 et seq.)
Existing law provides that gender discrimination protection under FEHA does not affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. (Gov. Code Sec. 12920(a)(4).)
This bill would expand the employer’s right to give special consideration to all veterans and authorize the employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans’ preference employment policy, as specified.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act and authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans’ preference employment policy.
This bill would authorize that employer to require that a veteran submit a DD 214 form to be eligible for the preference. (A DD 214 is a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty issued by the United States Department of Defense upon a military service member’s retirement, separation, or discharge from active-duty military.)
This bill would specify that the granting of a veterans’ preference, in and of itself, would be deemed to not violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, FEHA.
This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
This bill would provide the following definitions:
“DD 214” means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service;
“private employer” means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees;
“veteran” means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge; and
“veterans’ preference employment policy” means a private employer’s voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
This bill also would make technical and conforming changes to various code sections and contains double-jointing language to address a chaptering out issue with AB 987 (Levine, 2015).
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
Currently[,] California already has a veteran’s preference exception in Gov[ernment] Code 12940(a)(4). The problem with the existing law is that it is arguably outdated and narrow. In its current state, this veteran’s preference exception only applies to Vietnam War era veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination claims. This is problematic because the amount of Vietnam War era veterans who are looking to utilize this preference exception is steadily declining due to the fact that many of these veterans are no longer searching for employment. Also[,] it omits any veteran that did not serve in the Vietnam War era and clearly limits the amount of people who can use this veteran’s preference.
This bill corrects an outdated law, which only allows for a business to create a preference for Vietnam War era veterans. While the original legislation was relevant when first adopted, the existing law is now lacking because it only provides preference to Vietnam War era veterans, and does not encompass all veterans.
2. Establishing Veterans preference protection
Existing law provides that sex discrimination protections provided under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) do not affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam era veterans. (Gov. Code Sec. 12940(a)(4).) This bill would provide that all of the discrimination protections provided under FEHA would not affect a private employer’s right to select a veteran over another applicant. This bill would also expand an employer’s right to give special consideration to all veterans and authorize the employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans’ preference employment policy, as specified.
The author notes that the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) provides a list of the following states that have recently enacted veteran’s preference laws similar to those in this bill: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. Also, similar measures are currently pending in Alaska, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. The author argues that existing FEHA protections are outdated and do not properly provide for hiring preference to all veterans, not just Vietnam-era veterans.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in support, states that this bill would “establish a voluntary preference for employers to grant a veteran in hiring. This voluntary preference would expand the veteran’s preference exception to all U.S. veterans, regardless of when they served. . . . [Human Resource] professionals are keenly aware of the difficulty some veterans face when searching for employment and SHRM and our affiliate, the California State Council of SHRM (CalSHRM), (and many businesses and veteran groups) have been collaborating to assist returning veterans gain employment in our state. We believe that allowing an employer to exercise a voluntary hiring preference exception to all veterans is one small way we can thank them for their service to our country.” (Emphasis in original.)
The FEHA provision authorizing veteran preference over gender, and Vietnam-era veteran preference over all other veterans, was established in 1981. Although FEHA has been amended numerous times in the past 34 years, this veteran preference subdivision was not updated other than to make a minor revision to change “Vietnam era” to “Vietnam-era.” (AB 1814 (Buchanan, Chapter 130, Statutes of 2010).) Accordingly, this bill seeks to update veteran preference under FEHA to encompass all of the veterans of the U.S. that have served since the veteran preference protection was enacted, as well those who serve the country in the future. Notably, every other FEHA characteristic protected from discrimination (race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, and sexual orientation) is a characteristic that a veteran may have – no other characteristic encompasses all of the other categories. Arguably, it is appropriate, as a matter of public policy, to provide an overriding veteran employment preference for individuals who have served the country.
Further, this bill provides an appropriate balance for other applicants or employees that may be affected when a veteran is hired over the applicant or employee. This would require the private employer, who opts to provide veteran preference in hiring decisions, to establish and maintain a written veterans’ preference employment policy. In this way, other applicants or employees would be made aware of the employer’s hiring policy. In the absence of such written policy, the employer may be liable for discrimination against another employee or applicant.
3. Author’s amendments
To address concern that veteran’s preference policy created under this bill could be used by an employer as a pretext in order to discriminate against the other protected classes under FEHA, the author offers the following amendments in Committee to prohibit the employer from using the policy to discriminate against the other protected classes:
Author’s amendments:
On page 4, in line 5, after “12958).” insert “A veterans’ preference policy shall not be established or applied for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification in this subdivision.”
On page 17, between lines 33 and 34, insert “(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the establishment or use of a veterans’ preference employment policy for the purpose of discriminating against an employment applicant on the basis of any protected classification in subdivision (a) of Section 12940.”
Support: American Legion-Department of California; AMVETS-Department of California; California Association of County Veterans Service Officers; California State Commanders Veterans Council; Military Officers Association of America, California Council of Chapters; Society for Human Resource Management; VFW-Department of California; Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition: None Known
HISTORY
Source: California State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management
Related Pending Legislation: AB 987 (Levine, 2015) would make it an unlawful employment practice under the Fair Employment and Housing Act for an employer or other covered entity to retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person who requests an accommodation for the person’s religious belief or observance or for the person’s known physical or mental disability, regardless of whether the request was granted. AB 987 is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Prior Legislation:
AB 556 (Salas, Chapter 691, Statutes of 2013) See Background.
AB 1814 (Buchanan, Chapter 130, Statutes of 2010) See Comment 2.
SB 36 (Baca, Chapter 201, Statutes of 1999) requires any city, county, or city and county, general law or chartered, when it has established a civil service system, to implement a veterans’ preference system, or adopt a resolution identifying reasons that the local agency does not do so.
SB 1150 (Fletcher and Burns, Chapter 123, Statutes of 1945) requires military veteran preference on civil service employment lists.
Prior Vote:
Assembly Floor (Ayes 77, Noes 0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 17, Noes 0)
Assembly Labor and Employment Committee (Ayes 7, Noes 0)
**************
AB 1383 (Jones)
Page 7 of 7
Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, Chair
2015-2016 Regular Session
AB 1383 (Jones)
Version: June 19, 2015
Hearing Date: June 30, 2015
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
TMW
SUBJECT
Veterans preferences: voluntary policy
DESCRIPTION
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act and authorize a private employer to establish a veteran’s preference employment policy.
BACKGROUND
Various statutes, such as the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and the Unruh Civil Rights Act, prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation and services provided by business establishments on the basis of specified personal characteristics such as sex, race, color, national origin, religion, and disability. Over time, these statutes have been amended to include other characteristics such as medical conditions, marital status, and sexual orientation. Also over time, other statutes were amended to reflect the state’s public policy against discrimination in all forms.
The federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides employment discrimination protection for a person who is an active duty military or a veteran and has an obligation to perform service in a uniformed service (United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, the United States National Guard). (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.) The California Military and Veterans Code incorporates this discrimination protection, and further extends it to members or veterans of the California National Guard. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
AB 556 (Salas, Chapter 691, Statutes of 2013) incorporated into FEHA protection from discrimination and retaliation for military employees and veterans. This bill seeks to further protect veterans from employment discrimination, as well as protect private employers who give veteran preference in employment decisions, by enacting the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing federal law, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), prohibits discrimination and retaliation against active duty military and veterans on the basis of the person’s military membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.)
Existing federal law prohibits an employer’s use of the employee’s military membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation as a motivating factor as cause for an adverse employment decision against the employee. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4311.)
Existing federal law, the USERRA, provides that any person whose absence from a position of employment is necessitated by reason of service in the uniformed services shall be entitled to specified reemployment rights and benefits and other employment benefits of this chapter. (38 U.S.C. Sec. 4312.)
Existing law prohibits discrimination by a person, public entity, or official against any officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the military or naval forces because of that membership, and prohibits prejudice or injury by any person, employer, or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm with respect to that member’s employment, position or status or be denied or disqualified for employment by virtue of the membership. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law prohibits an employer or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm, or other person, from: (1) discharging any person from employment because of the performance of any ordered military duty or training or by reason of being an officer, warrant officer, or enlisted member of the military or naval forces of this state; (2) preventing that person from performing any military service or from attending any military encampment or place of drill or instruction he or she may be called upon to perform or attend by proper authority; (3) using prejudice or harm against an employee in any manner in his or her employment, position, or status by reason of the employee’s performance of military service or duty or attendance at military encampments or places of drill or instruction; or (4) dissuading, preventing, or stopping any person from enlistment or accepting a warrant or commission in the California National Guard or Naval Militia by threat or injury to the employee in respect to his or her employment, position, status, trade, or business because of enlistment or acceptance of a warrant or commission. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law prohibits a private employer or officer or agent of any corporation, company, or firm, or other person, from restricting or terminating any collateral benefit for employees by reason of an employee’s temporary incapacitation (any period of incapacitation of 52 weeks or less) incident to duty in the National Guard or Naval Militia. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law provides that a violation of the above state employment protections is a misdemeanor, and that any person violating any of these provisions is liable for actual damages and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred by the injured party. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 394.)
Existing law provides that a covered employee has an absolute right to be restored to the former office or position and status formerly had by him or her in the same locality and in the same office, board, commission, agency, or institution of the public agency upon the termination of temporary military duty. If the office or position has been eliminated during the employee’s absence, the employee must be reinstated to a position of like seniority, status, and pay if a position exists, or if no position exists, the employee will have the same rights and privileges that he or she would have had if he or she had occupied the position when it ceased to exist and had not taken temporary military leave of absence. (Mil. & Vet. Code Sec. 395.)
Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), prohibits discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of various characteristics, including military and veteran status, defined as a member or veteran of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces Reserve, the United States National Guard, and the California National Guard. (Gov. Code Sec. 12920 et seq.)
Existing law provides that gender discrimination protection under FEHA does not affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam-era veterans. (Gov. Code Sec. 12920(a)(4).)
This bill would expand the employer’s right to give special consideration to all veterans and authorize the employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans’ preference employment policy, as specified.
This bill would enact the Voluntary Veterans’ Preference Employment Policy Act and authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans’ preference employment policy.
This bill would authorize that employer to require that a veteran submit a DD 214 form to be eligible for the preference. (A DD 214 is a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty issued by the United States Department of Defense upon a military service member’s retirement, separation, or discharge from active-duty military.)
This bill would specify that the granting of a veterans’ preference, in and of itself, would be deemed to not violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation, including, but not limited to, FEHA.
This bill would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran to the extent permitted by law.
This bill would provide the following definitions:
“DD 214” means United States Department of Defense Form 214 or a similarly effective form issued by that department relating to separation from military service;
“private employer” means a business entity in the private sector of this state with one or more employees;
“veteran” means a person who served on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States who was discharged or released with an honorable discharge; and
“veterans’ preference employment policy” means a private employer’s voluntary preference for hiring or retaining a veteran over another qualified applicant or employee.
This bill also would make technical and conforming changes to various code sections and contains double-jointing language to address a chaptering out issue with AB 987 (Levine, 2015).
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
Currently[,] California already has a veteran’s preference exception in Gov[ernment] Code 12940(a)(4). The problem with the existing law is that it is arguably outdated and narrow. In its current state, this veteran’s preference exception only applies to Vietnam War era veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination claims. This is problematic because the amount of Vietnam War era veterans who are looking to utilize this preference exception is steadily declining due to the fact that many of these veterans are no longer searching for employment. Also[,] it omits any veteran that did not serve in the Vietnam War era and clearly limits the amount of people who can use this veteran’s preference.
This bill corrects an outdated law, which only allows for a business to create a preference for Vietnam War era veterans. While the original legislation was relevant when first adopted, the existing law is now lacking because it only provides preference to Vietnam War era veterans, and does not encompass all veterans.
2. Establishing Veterans preference protection
Existing law provides that sex discrimination protections provided under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) do not affect the right of an employer to use veteran status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam era veterans. (Gov. Code Sec. 12940(a)(4).) This bill would provide that all of the discrimination protections provided under FEHA would not affect a private employer’s right to select a veteran over another applicant. This bill would also expand an employer’s right to give special consideration to all veterans and authorize the employer to use veteran status as a factor in hiring decisions if the employer maintains a veterans’ preference employment policy, as specified.
The author notes that the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) provides a list of the following states that have recently enacted veteran’s preference laws similar to those in this bill: Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington. Also, similar measures are currently pending in Alaska, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. The author argues that existing FEHA protections are outdated and do not properly provide for hiring preference to all veterans, not just Vietnam-era veterans.
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), in support, states that this bill would “establish a voluntary preference for employers to grant a veteran in hiring. This voluntary preference would expand the veteran’s preference exception to all U.S. veterans, regardless of when they served. . . . [Human Resource] professionals are keenly aware of the difficulty some veterans face when searching for employment and SHRM and our affiliate, the California State Council of SHRM (CalSHRM), (and many businesses and veteran groups) have been collaborating to assist returning veterans gain employment in our state. We believe that allowing an employer to exercise a voluntary hiring preference exception to all veterans is one small way we can thank them for their service to our country.” (Emphasis in original.)
The FEHA provision authorizing veteran preference over gender, and Vietnam-era veteran preference over all other veterans, was established in 1981. Although FEHA has been amended numerous times in the past 34 years, this veteran preference subdivision was not updated other than to make a minor revision to change “Vietnam era” to “Vietnam-era.” (AB 1814 (Buchanan, Chapter 130, Statutes of 2010).) Accordingly, this bill seeks to update veteran preference under FEHA to encompass all of the veterans of the U.S. that have served since the veteran preference protection was enacted, as well those who serve the country in the future. Notably, every other FEHA characteristic protected from discrimination (race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, and sexual orientation) is a characteristic that a veteran may have – no other characteristic encompasses all of the other categories. Arguably, it is appropriate, as a matter of public policy, to provide an overriding veteran employment preference for individuals who have served the country.
Further, this bill provides an appropriate balance for other applicants or employees that may be affected when a veteran is hired over the applicant or employee. This would require the private employer, who opts to provide veteran preference in hiring decisions, to establish and maintain a written veterans’ preference employment policy. In this way, other applicants or employees would be made aware of the employer’s hiring policy. In the absence of such written policy, the employer may be liable for discrimination against another employee or applicant.
Support: American Legion-Department of California; AMVETS-Department of California; California Association of County Veterans Service Officers; California State Commanders Veterans Council; Military Officers Association of America, California Council of Chapters; Society for Human Resource Management; VFW-Department of California; Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition: None Known
HISTORY
Source: California State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management
Related Pending Legislation: AB 987 (Levine, 2015) would make it an unlawful employment practice under the Fair Employment and Housing Act for an employer or other covered entity to retaliate or otherwise discriminate against a person who requests an accommodation for the person’s religious belief or observance or for the person’s known physical or mental disability, regardless of whether the request was granted. AB 987 is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Prior Legislation:
AB 556 (Salas, Chapter 691, Statutes of 2013) See Background.
AB 1814 (Buchanan, Chapter 130, Statutes of 2010) See Comment 2.
SB 36 (Baca, Chapter 201, Statutes of 1999) requires any city, county, or city and county, general law or chartered, when it has established a civil service system, to implement a veterans’ preference system, or adopt a resolution identifying reasons that the local agency does not do so.
SB 1150 (Fletcher and Burns, Chapter 123, Statutes of 1945) requires military veteran preference on civil service employment lists.
Prior Vote:
Assembly Floor (Ayes 77, Noes 0)
Assembly Appropriations Committee (Ayes 17, Noes 0)
Assembly Labor and Employment Committee (Ayes 7, Noes 0)
**************
AB 1383
Page 2
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1383
(Jones)
As Amended May 28, 2015
Majority vote
Committee |
Votes |
Ayes |
Noes |
Labor |
7-0 |
Roger Hernández, Harper, Chu, Low, McCarty, Patterson, Thurmond |
|
Appropriations |
17-0 |
Gomez, Bigelow, Bonta, Calderon, Chang, Daly, Eggman, Gallagher, Eduardo Garcia, Gordon, Holden, Jones, Quirk, Rendon, Wagner, Weber, Wood |
|
SUMMARY: Establishes the "Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act" for employers to grant a veteran preference in hiring, and expands the veteran’s preference exception to all veterans, regardless of when they served.
EXISTING LAW:
Provides that it is unlawful for any employer to discriminate against, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select or train that person in any apprenticeship training program or any other training program leading to employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
Provides that it is unlawful for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract.
Allows employers, under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to use veterans' status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam–era veterans.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, ongoing General Fund administrative costs to the Department of Veteran Affairs in the range of $195,000 to $365,000. It is difficult to estimate the number of inquiries the department would receive related to veteran verification. There are 2 million veterans in California; roughly half are of working age. For illustration, if the department were to process 2,500 inquires annually; administrative costs would be in the lower end of this range.
COMMENTS: The author points out, that currently California already has a veteran's preference exception in Government Code Section 12940(a)(4) and argues the problem with the existing law is that it is arguably outdated and narrow. In its current state, this veteran's preference exception only applies to Vietnam War era veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination claims. This is problematic because the amount of Vietnam War era veterans who are looking to utilize this preference exception is steadily declining due to the fact that many of these veterans are no longer searching for employment. Also, it omits any veteran that did not serve in the Vietnam War era and clearly limits the amount of people who can use this veteran's preference.
The author is seeking to correct an outdated law, which only allows for a business to create a preference for Vietnam War era veterans. While the original legislation was relevant when first adopted, the existing law is now lacking because it only provides preference to Vietnam War era veterans, and does not encompass all veterans.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, similar veteran's preference laws have recently been enacted in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Also, similar measures are currently pending in Alaska, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
Supporters state that despite the popular nature of these bills and a universal desire to assist veterans, some employers and human resource professionals have expressed concern that exercising such a preference might inadvertently create litigation under state or local anti-discrimination laws. This law allows an employer to establish a voluntary veterans hiring preference policy and clarifies that exercising such a preference would not violate state or local anti-discrimination laws. Lastly, they state that by limiting this preference to hiring decisions, this bill is narrowly focused and intended to remedy the immediate problem of higher than normal unemployment rates for veterans and removes veteran-related hiring barriers.
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091 FN: 0000568
AB 1383
Page 2
Date of Hearing: May 6, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB 1383
(Jones) – As Amended April 20, 2015
Policy Committee: |
Labor and Employment |
Vote: |
7 - 0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes the "Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act" to authorize a private employer to establish and maintain a written veterans preference employment policy. The bill also updates outdated statute authorizing the veteran's preference exception. Specifically, this bill:
Authorizes an employer with a veterans’ preference employment policy to require a veteran to submit a United States Department of Defense form (DD 214) to be eligible for the preference.
Specifies the granting of a veterans’ preference, in and of itself, does not violate any local or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation.
Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist any private employer in determining if an applicant is a veteran, to the extent permitted by law.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Ongoing General Fund administrative costs to the Department of Veteran Affairs in the range of $195,000 to $365,000. It is difficult to estimate the number of inquiries the department would receive related to veteran verification. There are 2 million veterans in California; roughly half are of working age. For illustration, if the department were to process 2,500 inquires annually administrative costs would be in the lower end of this range.
COMMENTS:
Purpose. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) currently allows employers to use veterans' status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam–era veterans. According to the author, this exception is outdated and narrow. The current veteran’s preference exception only applies to Vietnam War era veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination claims. This bill updates the law to apply to all veterans.
This bill also allows an employer to establish a voluntary veterans hiring preference policy and clarifies that exercising such a preference would not violate state or local anti-discrimination laws. By limiting this preference to hiring decisions, this bill is narrowly focused and intended to remedy the immediate problem of higher than normal unemployment rates for veterans and removes veteran-related hiring barriers.
Technical amendment. The bill as currently drafted has a blank operative date. Staff recommends an amendment to strike this placeholder date.
Analysis Prepared by: Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
AB 1383
Page 2
Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT
Roger Hernández, Chair
AB 1383
(Jones) – As Amended April 20, 2015
SUBJECT: Veterans preferences: voluntary policy
SUMMARY: Establishes the "Voluntary Veterans' Preference Employment Policy Act" for employers to grant a veteran preference in hiring, and expands the veteran’s preference exception to all veterans, regardless of when they served.
EXISTING LAW:
Provides that it is unlawful for any employer to discriminate against, to refuse to hire or employ a person or to refuse to select or train that person in any apprenticeship training program or any other training program leading to employment because of the 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, or military and veteran status of the person discriminated against.
Provides that it is unlawful for an employer, labor organization, employment agency, apprenticeship training program or any training program leading to employment, or any other person, because 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, or military and veteran status, to harass an employee, an applicant, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract.
Allows employers, under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to use veterans' status as a factor in employee selection or to give special consideration to Vietnam–era veterans.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: The author points out, that currently California already has a veteran’s preference exception in Gov. Code 12940(a)(4) and argues the problem with the existing law is that it is arguably outdated and narrow. In its current state, this veteran’s preference exception only applies to Vietnam War era veterans and only immunizes employers from gender discrimination claims. This is problematic because the amount of Vietnam War era veterans who are looking to utilize this preference exception is steadily declining due to the fact that many of these veterans are no longer searching for employment. Also it omits any veteran that did not serve in the Vietnam War era and clearly limits the amount of people who can use this veteran’s preference.
The author is seeking to correct an outdated law, which only allows for a business to create a preference for Vietnam War era veterans. While the original legislation was relevant when first adopted, the existing law is now lacking because it only provides preference to Vietnam War era veterans, and does not encompass all veterans.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), similar veteran’s preference laws have recently been enacted in Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington. Also, similar measures are currently pending in Alaska, Indiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah.
Supporters state that despite the popular nature of these bills and a universal desire to assist veterans, some employers and human resource professionals have expressed concern that exercising such a preference might inadvertently create litigation under state or local anti-discrimination laws. This law allows an employer to establish a voluntary veterans hiring preference policy and clarifies that exercising such a preference would not violate state or local anti-discrimination laws. Lastly they state that by limiting this preference to hiring decisions, this bill is narrowly focused and intended to remedy the immediate problem of higher than normal unemployment rates for veterans and removes veteran-related hiring barriers.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
American Legion-Department of California
AMVETS-Department of California
California Association of County Veterans Service Officers
California State Commanders Veterans Council
California State Council of SHRM
Military Officers Association of America, California Council of Chapter's
Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense-Military, Community & Family Policy
Society for Human Resource Management
VFW, Department of California
Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by: Lorie Alvarez / L. & E. / (916) 319-2091
Discussed in Hearing
Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary
Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary
Assembly Floor
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):