BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 242| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 242 Author: Yee (D) Amended: 7/14/09 Vote: 21 SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 3-2, 3/31/09 AYES: Corbett, Florez, Leno NOES: Harman, Walters SENATE FLOOR : 21-15, 4/16/09 AYES: Alquist, Corbett, Correa, DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Florez, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Yee NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Cox, Denham, Dutton, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Maldonado, Runner, Strickland, Walters, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Cedillo, Hancock, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 8/20/09 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Civil rights: language restrictions SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill makes it a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act to adopt or enforce a policy that requires, limits, or prohibits the use of any language in a business establishment, unless the language is justified by a business necessity and notification has been provided of CONTINUED SB 242 Page 2 the circumstances and the time when the language restriction is required to be observed, and of the consequences for its violation. Assembly Amendments (1) added policies that "require" the use of any language, (2) provided that the prohibition and defenses contained in this bill are in addition to any other provisions of law, and (3) added provisions specifying that the provisions do not apply to policies or rules regarding the employment relationship between a business establishment and its employees. ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, generally prohibits business establishments from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition, and provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions. Existing law, the California Fair Employment Housing Act (FEHA), provides that it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to adopt or enforce a policy that prohibits the use of any language in the workplace, except if that policy is justified by business necessity and prescribed notice of the policy and consequences for violation of the policy is given to employees. This bill makes it a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act to adopt or enforce a policy that requires, limits, or prohibits the use of any language in or with a business establishment, unless the language restriction or requirement is justified by a business necessity and notification has been provided of the circumstances and the time when the language restriction is required to be observed, and of the consequences for its violation. This bill defines "business necessity" as an overriding legitimate business purpose for which all of the following are true: (1) the language restriction or requirement is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the business, (2) the language restriction or requirement effectively fulfills the business purpose it is supposed to serve, and (3) an alternative practice to the language restriction or requirement that would accomplish the SB 242 Page 3 business purpose equally well with a lesser discriminatory impact does not exist. This definition of "business necessity" is consistent with the one codified in the FEHA. This bill provides for an award of damages, and attorney's fees as may be determined by the court, for a violation of its provisions. This bill provides that nothing in this bill shall be construed to impose a duty on any business establishment to provide customer service in a particular language unless that duty is otherwise required by law. The prohibitions and defenses in this bill are in addition to any other prohibitions and defenses under any other section or other law, and the rights and remedies provided by this bill may be enforced independently of any other rights or remedies. This bill provides that nothing in this bill shall be construed to alter, limit, or negate an application of any other remedies or rights provided under the law. This bill provides that the provisions of the bill do not apply to policies or rules regarding the employment relationship between a business establishment and its employees. Background In 2008, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) announced a proposed policy that would have required players on the tour to be proficient in English by the end of 2009 and pass an oral evaluation of their English skills or face a membership suspension. The LPGA asserted that it was important for players to be able to interact with the American media and event sponsors even though many of the tour's sponsors are international companies, and a number of the tournaments do not take place in the United States. Notably, no other professional sports team in the United States has a similar requirement. The LPGA ultimately rescinded the proposal after the author of this bill, and other lawmakers, along with numerous civil rights organizations, raised objections to the policy. Various statutes, such as FEHA and the Unruh Civil Rights SB 242 Page 4 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 evolved to include other characteristics such as medical condition and marital status and to generally reflect the state's public policy against discrimination in all forms. Although FEHA currently contains provisions that prohibit employers from enacting policies that restrict the use of any language among their employees, there is nothing in current law that generally prohibits business establishments to place such restrictions on patrons or, in the case of the LPGA tour, participants/competitors. This bill seeks to further enhance protections in the Unruh Civil Rights Act in order to prevent the implementation of language restriction policies in the future. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/09) American Civil Liberties Union American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO Anti-Defamation League Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality Asian Americans for Community Involvement Associated Students, University of California, Davis California Federation of Teachers California Nurses Association California Teachers Association EDITORIAL - Bay Area News Group Newspapers EDITORIAL - Korea Daily Equality California FilAm Star Japanese American Citizens League (Pacific Region) Korean American Bar Association Korean American Coalition - Los Angeles National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) SB 242 Page 5 San Francisco Japanese American Citizens League Service Employees International Union (SEIU) The Legal Aid Society - Employment Law Center OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/21/09) Association of California Insurance Companies California Business Properties Association California Chamber of Commerce California Financial Services Association California Grocers Association California Independent Grocers Association California Manufacturers and Technology Association California Resource Family Impact California Restaurant Association California Retailers Association Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce Lawyers Against Lawsuit Abuse Lumber Association of California and Nevada Personal Insurance Federation of California Pro English ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states: "While speaking one's native language is protected in cases of employment and housing under state law, such protections are not provided under the state's civil rights act, which prohibits discrimination within business establishments. "Unless English is justified by a business necessity, no one should be discriminated against simply for speaking their language. SB 242 will rightfully add language to the list of protected classes within California's civil rights act." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A. Perez, V. SB 242 Page 6 Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torrico, Yamada, Bass NOES: Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Villines NO VOTE RECORDED: Adams, Galgiani, Torres, Tran, Vacancy RJG:mw 8/24/09 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****