The California Fair Employment and Housing Act of 1959, codified as Government Code §§12900 - 12996, is a California statute used to fight

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

and other forms of unlawful

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

and housing, which was passed on September 18, 1959.

Scope

The FEHA is the principal California

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

prohibiting

employment discrimination Employment discrimination is a form of illegal discrimination in the workplace based on legally protected characteristics. In the U.S., federal anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination by employers against employees based on age, race, g ...

covering employers,

labor organizations A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

, employment agencies, apprenticeship programs and any person or entity who aids, abets, incites, compels, or coerces the doing of a discriminatory act. It prohibits

based on race or color; religion; national origin or ancestry, physical disability; mental disability or medical condition; marital status; sex or sexual orientation; age, with respect to persons over the age of 40; and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The FEHA also prohibits retaliation against anyone for opposing any practice forbidden by the Act or for filing a complaint, testifying, or assisting in proceedings under the FEHA. An amendment passed in 1978 requires employers to provide an unpaid job-protected leave to employees disabled by pregnancy (also known as "pregnancy disability leave") for up to four months. The legality of this statute and its consistency with federal law was upheld by the Supreme Court in '' California Federal Savings & Loan Ass'n v. Guerra'' (1987). After the passage of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, pregnant employees in California also became eligible to receive temporary disability insurance benefits under the California State Disability Insurance program.

Purpose

Various individual states within the United States have anti-discrimination laws which sometimes differ from federal law; these laws are provided in addition to the federal law, and may offer more desirable avenues to victims of harassment and discrimination. The FEHA was adopted with the stated purpose of providing effective remedies to eliminate certain types of employment discrimination. The FEHA offers protections that are similar and often more potent that those available under federal counterparts, like Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. These protections include, but are not limited to,

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

fee awards and reimbursement of certain case related expenses to prevailing plaintiffs. Additionally, the FEHA sometimes applies different and less stringent standards for meeting the criteria related to harassment, discrimination, and

retaliation Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." ...

Examples

California law and the FEHA also allow for the imposition of punitive damages when a corporate defendant's officers, directors or managing agents engage in harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, or when such persons approve or consciously disregard prohibited conduct by lower-level employees in violation of the rights or safety of the plaintiff or others. The California Court of Appeals opinion in the landmark sexual harassment case of ''Weeks. v. Baker & McKenzie'' is a good example of how the FEHA works to protect employees in California. Settlements in FEHA cases can actually be quite complex and require complex negotiations.

Process

Whether seeking an investigation under FEHA or a suit in court, the process usually begins with the victim filing a complaint of discrimination with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing.

References

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External links

Home page California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
Fair Employment and Housing Act, California Anti-discrimination law in the United States Labor law in California Housing in California United States labor legislation