BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
Senator Noreen Evans, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
AB 887 (Atkins)
As Amended April 27, 2011
Hearing Date: June 14, 2011
Fiscal: Yes
Urgency: No
EDO
SUBJECT
Gender
DESCRIPTION
This bill would clarify the definition of gender under the Fair
Employment and Housing Act and the Unruh Civil Rights Act as
well as other anti-discrimination laws. This bill would
expressly include the terms "gender identity" and "gender
expression" wherever the term "gender" currently appears and
would prohibit employers, schools, and housing authorities from
discriminating based on a person's gender identity or gender
expression.
This bill would expressly specify that "gender" means sex, and
include a person's gender identity and gender expression. This
bill would also specify that "gender expression" means "a
person's gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not
stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at
birth."
BACKGROUND
The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the Unruh Civil
Rights Act, and various other provisions prohibit discrimination
in employment, housing, public accommodation, education, and
services provided by business establishments and schools on the
basis of specified personal characteristics such as sex, race,
color, national origin, religion, and disability. Over time,
these statutes have evolved to include other characteristics
such as medical condition, marital status, and sexual
orientation to generally reflect the state's public policy
(more)
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against discrimination in all forms.
The Supreme Court of California has consistently held that the
Unruh Civil Rights Act provides broad protection to all persons
who are arbitrarily discriminated against by business
establishments. Beginning in the 1950's the court found that
the State Board of Equalization acted illegally by suspending
the license of a bar and restaurant merely because it allowed
patronage by gay people whom the licensor saw as "immoral."
(Stoumen v. Reilly (1951) 37 Cal.2d 713.) In 1970, the court
held that the Unruh Civil Rights Act forbids a business
establishment that is generally open to the public from
arbitrarily excluding a prospective customer (In re Cox (1970) 3
Cal.3d 205.) This case was followed by Marina Point, Ltd. v.
Wolfson (1982) 30 Cal.3d 721, which found that a landlord's "no
children" policy was arbitrary discrimination based on familial
status that violated the Act. In all of these cases, the court
engaged in statutory analysis of the Unruh Civil Rights Act and
determined the "past judicial interpretation of the act, and the
history of legislative action that extended the statutes' scope,
indicate that identification of particular bases of
discrimination - color, race, religion, ancestry, and national
origin . . . is illustrative rather than restrictive. Although
the legislation has been invoked primarily by persons alleging
discrimination on racial grounds, its language and its history
compel the conclusion that the Legislature intended to prohibit
all arbitrary discrimination by business establishments." (See
In re Cox, 3 Cal.3d at 216.)
In 2005, AB 1400 (Laird, Chapter 420, Statutes of 2005) was
passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor to specify
that discrimination based on marital status and sexual
orientation would not be tolerated in California. The purpose
of this legislation was to address repeated complaints from
individuals and attorneys representing victims of discrimination
based on marital status and sexual orientation who claimed
difficulty enforcing these protections because they were not
expressly specified in the law.
This bill would expressly add "gender identity" and "gender
expression" throughout the codes and define "gender expression"
to mean a person's gender-related appearance and behavior
whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's
assigned sex at birth.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
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1a. Existing law , the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the FEHA,
defines "sex" using a series of cross-references to include,
but not be limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, or medical
conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. Under those
cross references, "sex" also includes, but is not limited to,
a person's gender and "gender" means sex, and includes a
person's gender identity and gender related appearance and
behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the
person's assigned sex at birth. (Civ. Code Sec. 51(a)(4);
Gov. Code Sec. 12926(p); Pen. Code Sec. 422.56.)
This bill , under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and FEHA, would
delete the cross-references and expressly specify that "sex"
includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, or
medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth and
would also expressly specify that "sex" includes, but is not
limited to, a person's gender. This bill would also expressly
specify that "gender" means sex, and includes a person's
gender identity and gender expression.
This bill would further state that "gender expression" means a
person's gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not
stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at
birth.
b. 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, marital status, or sexual
orientation and provides civil remedies for violations of its
provisions. (Civ. Code Sec. 51 et seq.)
Existing law , the Fair Employment and Housing Act, prohibits
discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of race,
religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical
disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital
status, sex, age, or sexual orientation. (Gov. Code Sec.
12920 et seq.)
This bill would also prohibit discrimination under Unruh and
FEHA on the basis of gender, gender identity, and gender
expression.
c. Existing law provides that the California Department of Fair
Employment and Housing and the Fair Employment and Housing
Commission are authorized to enforce and regulate violations
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of discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of a
person's sex or gender and other specified characteristics.
(Gov. Code Secs. 12930 and 12931.)
This bill would expressly authorize the California Department
of Fair Employment and Housing and the Fair Employment and
Housing Commission to enforce and regulate violations of
discrimination in housing and employment on the basis of a
person's gender identity and gender expression.
d. Existing law provides that the legal owner of a property who
believes that he or she is subject to a restrictive covenant
that unlawfully discriminates because of race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, marital
status, disability, national origin, source of income, or
ancestry, may record a document entitled "Restrictive Covenant
Modification," following a specified process. (Gov. Code
Secs. 12955, 12956.1, and 12956.2.)
This bill would allow a property owner to seek the removal of
any unlawful restrictive covenant that discriminates on the
basis of gender, gender identity or gender expression,
following the same specified process.
2a. Existing law provides that it is the policy of the State of
California that all persons in public schools be afforded
equal rights and opportunities in the education institutions
of the state and equitable access to educational programs
designed to strengthen technological skills regardless of
their disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity,
religion, or sexual orientation. Existing law provides that
no person shall be subjected to discrimination on these bases
in any program or activity conducted by an educational
institution that receives, or benefits from, state financial
assistance. (Ed. Code Secs. 200, 220, 51007 and 66270.)
This bill would add "gender identity" and "gender expression"
to the list of persons who shall not be discriminated against
in educational institutions.
b. Existing law , the Carl Washington School Safety and Violence
Prevention Act, provides that it is the intent of the
Legislature that public schools have access to supplemental
resources to combat bias on the basis of race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, or
sexual orientation, to prevent and respond to acts of hate
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violence and bias-related incidents. (Ed. Code Sec. 32228.)
This bill would add "gender identity" and "gender expression"
to this list.
c. Existing law , the Educational Equity Chapter and the Sex
Equity in Education Act, defines "gender" to mean "sex, and
includes a person's gender identity and gender appearance and
behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the
person's assigned sex at birth." (Ed. Code Secs. 210.7 and
66260.7.)
This bill , under the Educational Equity Chapter and the Sex
Equity in Education Act, would expressly add gender expression
to the above definition of "gender."
3a. Existing law , the Insurance Discriminatory Practices Chapter,
defines "sex" as having the same meaning as "gender," which
means sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender
related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically
associated with the person's assigned sex at birth. (Ins.
Code Secs. 10140 and 10140.2)
This bill would define "sex", under the Insurance
Discriminatory Practices Chapter as having the same meaning as
"gender" and expressly provide that gender means sex, and
includes a person's gender identity and gender expression, as
defined.
b. Existing law provides that an insurer of a religious
organization, educational organization, or nonprofit
organization, as defined, shall not cancel or refuse to renew
a policy for a loss that is a result of a hate crime committed
based on the groups race, color, religion, ancestry, national
origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. (Ins. Code
Sec. 676.10.)
This bill would add "gender", "gender identity" and "gender
expression", as defined, to this list.
c. Existing law provides that no insurer for life or disability
insurance shall fail or refuse to accept an application for
insurance based on the person's race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, ancestry, or sexual orientation. (Ins. Code
Sec. 676.10.)
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This bill would add "gender," "gender identity" and "gender
expression", as defined, to this list.
d. Existing law provides that the Healthy Families Insurance
Program shall be administered without regard to gender, race,
creed, color, sexual orientation, health status, disability,
or occupation. (Ins. Code Sec. 12693.28.)
This bill would additionally require that the Healthy Families
Insurance Program be administered without regard to gender
identity or gender expression.
4.Existing law provides that for purposes of determining whether
to grant or deny a workers compensation claim, no personal
relationship shall be deemed to exist between an employee and
a third party who has injured or killed the employee, based on
a determination that the third party killed or injured the
employee because of the third party's personal beliefs
relating to his or her perception of the employee's race,
religious creed, color, national origin, age, gender,
disability, sex, or sexual orientation. (Lab. Code Sec.
3600.)
This bill would add "gender identity" and "gender expression"
to this list.
5a. Existing law provides that every person, regardless of race,
color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual
orientation, or handicap, be secure and protected from fear,
intimidation, and physical harm caused by the activities of
violent groups. (Pen. Code Sec. 186.21.)
This bill would expressly add "gender identity," and "gender
expression" to this list.
b. Existing law provides that "gender" means sex, and includes a
person's gender identity and gender appearance and behavior
whether or not stereotypically associated with the person's
assigned sex at birth. (Pen. Code Sec. 422.56.)
This bill would expressly add gender expression to the above
definition of gender.
c. Existing law provides that any person who is convicted of any
offense against a person or property of another because of the
victim's actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion,
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nationality, country of origin, ancestry, disability, gender,
or sexual orientation the court shall make an order protecting
the victim. (Pen. Code Sec. 422.85.)
This bill would expressly add gender identity and gender
expression to this list.
d. Existing law provides that if a person is released from prison
on parole for committing a crime against a victim based on the
victims actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, religion,
nationality, country of origin, ancestry, disability, gender,
or sexual orientation, the parole authority shall make it a
condition of parole that the parolee refrain from further
contact, as specified, of the victim. (Pen. Code Sec.
3053.4.)
This bill would expressly add gender identity and gender
expression to this list.
e. Existing law provides that it is the right of every person
regardless of actual or perceived disability, gender,
nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation
to be secure and protected from fear. Existing law also
provides that it is not the intent of this chapter to
interfere with the exercise of rights protected by the United
States Constitution. (Pen. Code Sec. 11410.)
This bill would expressly add gender identity and gender
expression to this list.
COMMENT
1. Stated need for the bill
The author writes:
ÝThis bill], the Gender Nondiscrimination Act, addresses the
high levels of discrimination faced by Californians who are
transgender or do not conform to narrow gender stereotypes.
This bill also addresses the concerns of employers, landlords,
educational institutions, and others who face confusion when
complying with laws that prohibit discrimination. Current
California laws protect people from discrimination based on
gender identity and gender expression. In the current
framework, California non-discrimination laws define "gender"
to mean sex including a person's gender identity (how they see
themselves) and gender expressions (how other people see
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them). Gender identity refers to a person's deeply felt
internal sense of being male or female. Gender expression
refers to one's behavior, mannerisms, appearance and other
characteristics that are perceived to be masculine or
feminine.
ÝThis bill] will take existing protections based on gender
identity and expression and specifically list them as
protected categories in our non-discrimination laws. By
making these protections explicit, people will more clearly
understand California's non-discrimination laws, which may
increase the likelihood that employers, housing authorities,
schools, etc. would work to prevent discrimination and/or
respond more effectively and expeditiously at the first
indications of discrimination. The Gender Nondiscrimination
Act will make clear that discrimination based on failure to
conform to narrow gender stereotypes is against the law.
Equality California, the Transgender Law Center and the Gay
Straight Alliance Network, co-sponsors of this bill, write:
California laws protect people from discrimination based on
gender identity and gender expression. California
non-discrimination laws define 'gender' to mean sex, including
a person's gender identity (how they see themselves) and
gender expression (how other people see them). Existing state
non-discrimination laws are confusing and vague for employers,
housing authorities, and others who bear the responsibility of
ensuring that the laws are enforced. Therefore, the harms
caused by discrimination can be reduced by simply using
language that is direct and easily understood. Additionally,
Californians who experience discrimination based on gender
identity and gender expression at work or elsewhere often do
not file complaints because they are unaware that they are
protected. ÝThis bill] would take existing protections based
on gender identity and expression and make these protections
explicit so that people would more clearly understand
California's nondiscrimination laws. This, in turn, may
increase the likelihood that employers, housing authorities,
and other groups would work to prevent discrimination and/or
respond more effectively and expeditiously at the first
indications of discrimination.
2. Purpose and need for expressly specifying gender identity and
gender expression in the anti-discrimination codes
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Under existing law, gender and sex are used interchangeably
throughout many anti-discrimination codes and generally can be
defined to include a "person's gender identity and gender
appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically
associated with the person's assigned sex at birth." This bill
would expressly define "gender" to mean "sex, and includes a
person's gender identity and gender expression. 'Gender
expression' means a person's gender-related appearance and
behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the
person's assigned sex at birth." As discussed more below, this
change seeks to address situations where transgender or gender
non-conforming individuals are discriminated against based on
these attributes. According to the author's office, many
transgender and gender non-conforming individuals are unaware
that protections exist in the law to shield them from
discrimination. As a result, transgender individuals who are
victims of this type of discrimination or harassment are not
seeking solutions through the courts.
According to the author and a recent report by the Transgender
Law Center, "nearly 70% of transgender Californians have
experienced discrimination or harassment at work. Californians
who experience discrimination based on gender identity and
gender expression at work or elsewhere often times do not file
complaints because they are unaware that they are
protected."(The State of Transgender California Report (2008).)
Specifically, the report found that transgender individuals
experience multiple types of workplace discrimination including
verbal harassment, unfair scrutiny and/or discipline, harassment
by coworkers, harassment by supervisors, sexual harassment,
denial of access to appropriate restrooms, and restricted or
eliminated access to customers or clients. Unfortunately, the
report also found that only 15 percent of those who have
reported some form of discrimination or harassment have actually
filed a complaint.
By not reporting this type of discrimination or harassment, it
is difficult to quantify. In response to an inquiry from the
Transgender Law Center regarding the reporting of gender
identity discrimination, the Department of Fair Employment and
Housing (DFEH) writes, "regretfully, the DFEH does not maintain
statistics on the number of sex discrimination complaints filed
that allege gender identity or transgender discrimination.
Anecdotally, I can say that the number of such complaints
received by the DFEH has been few." This is consistent with the
Transgender Law Center's theory that many transgender
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Californians are not reporting this type of discrimination.
A recent example of the type of discrimination faced by
transgender individuals involved a transgender woman who filed a
lawsuit against the California Department of Motor Vehicles
(DMV) after visiting her local DMV in San Francisco to request a
new driver's license. She had recently changed her name after
undergoing a gender transition, this needing a new driver's
license reflecting the name change. In that case, the DMV clerk
who assisted her took down her personal contact information and
shared her information with a fundamentalist religious group who
then sent her a harassing letter and video. As it turns out,
this same clerk had verbally assaulted another transgender DMV
client a few years prior, without suffering any consequences.
The author's office believes that this type of behavior would
not be tolerated if the law was clear that discrimination based
on gender identity or gender expression was expressly specified
in the law.
3. Expressly specifying "gender," "gender identity," and "gender
expression" in existing anti-discrimination statutes
This bill would add "gender," "gender identity," and "gender
expression", as defined above, expressly to the Unruh Civil
Rights Act, the Fair Employment and Housing Act, various
provisions of the Education and Insurance Codes, as well as one
section of the Labor Code.
a. The Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Fair Employment and
Housing Act (FEHA)
Under existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh)
generally prohibits business establishments from
discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion,
ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition,
marital status, or sexual orientation. Unruh is meant to cover
all arbitrary and intentional discrimination by a business
establishment on the basis of the personal characteristics
listed above. Currently, through a series of
cross-references, Unruh defines "sex" as meaning, including,
but not limited to pregnancy, childbirth, or medical
conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. "Sex" also
includes, but is not limited to, a person's gender. Unruh
defines "gender" to mean "sex", and includes a person's gender
identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or
not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex
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at birth.
Also, FEHA prohibits discrimination in housing and employment
on the basis of 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 definition of
"sex" under FEHA is the same as the definition under Unruh.
The FEHA is the principal California statute prohibiting
employment and housing discrimination covering employers,
labor organizations, employment agencies, apprenticeship
programs, and any person or entity, who aids, abets, incites,
compels, or coerces the doing of a discriminatory act. The
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)
and the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC) are
authorized to enforce the provisions under FEHA.
This bill would delete the cross-references described above
and expressly include "gender identity" and "gender
expression," as defined in the list of prohibited bases of
discrimination under Unruh and FEHA. Currently, the DFEH and
the FEHC are authorized to enforce the provisions of FEHA for
claims based on a person's sex, which is defined under FEHA to
include a person's gender and gender identity. This bill
would additionally expressly authorize DFEH and FEHC to
enforce the provisions of FEHA based explicitly on a person's
gender, gender identity or gender expression. In support of
this provision, the California Employment Lawyers Association
(CELA), writes, "In 2003, Assembly Bill 196 was signed into
law, amending the California Fair Employment and Housing Act
(FEHA) to prohibit California employers from discriminating
against employees based on an employee's gender identity or
gender expression . . . AB 196 made huge strides in helping to
protect a particularly victimized class of people against
discrimination in the workplace. As dedicated advocates of
workers' rights, we believe all employees should be treated
equally and are entitled to work with dignity under the
protection of the laws of this State." This bill seeks to
clarify the definition of gender to ensure that transgender
and other gender non-conforming individuals are free from
discrimination in the workplace and housing.
In response to committee staff's inquiry regarding the
practical effect of this change, the Transgender Law Center, a
co-sponsor of this bill, writes, "Under the current statutory
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scheme, if an HR manager looks up the Fair Employment and
Housing Act in an effort to list the protected categories in
their business' employee handbook, they will only see
"gender." They will not clearly see gender identity and
gender expression because they are contained in the definition
of gender in a separate section of the law. Should Ýthis bill]
pass, that same HR professional will clearly see gender
identity and expression and be far more likely to list those
categories in the employee handbook. This would ensure that
transgender employees know their rights and that
non-transgender employees are aware that discrimination based
on gender identity and expression is not permitted in the
workplace."
b. Removal of unlawful property restriction relating to
"gender," "gender identity" and "gender expression"
Under existing law, FEHA, the legal owner of a property who
believes that he or she is subject to a restrictive covenant
that unlawfully discriminates because of race, color,
religion, sex, sexual orientation, familial status, marital
status, disability, national origin, source of income, or
ancestry, may record a document entitled "Restrictive Covenant
Modification." (Gov. Code Secs. 12955, 12956.1, and 12956.2.)
That document must include a copy of the original document
containing the unlawful language with that language stricken.
The county recorder must submit the modified document and the
original document to the county counsel for a determination of
whether the original document contains an unlawful
restriction. The county counsel must then return the
documents, and inform the recorder of its determination. The
county recorder must refuse to record the modification
document if the county counsel finds that the original
document does not contain an unlawful restriction.
Consistent with the proposed addition of "gender", "gender
identity" and "gender expression" to both FEHA and Unruh, this
bill would also allow a property owner to seek the removal of
any unlawful restrictive covenant that discriminates on the
basis of "gender", "gender identity," and "gender expression"
pursuant to the above process. It should be noted that this
bill would not modify the above process, and that the legal
determination of whether a provision is unlawful would remain
with the county counsel, as under existing law.
c. Equal Rights and Opportunities and Anti-Discrimination
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Education Statutes
Under existing law, the State of California prohibits
discrimination based on race, color, religion, ancestry,
national origin, disability, gender, or sexual orientation, in
any public school receiving state funding, and shall provide
all students with equal rights and opportunities in the
educational institutions of this state. The Education Code
defines "gender" to mean "sex" and includes a person's gender
identity and gender appearance and behavior whether or not
stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex at
birth.
This bill would require that all persons in public schools be
provided with equal rights and opportunities, and shall not be
discriminated against in educational institutions of this
state on the basis of a persons' "gender identity" or "gender
expression." This bill would expressly add "gender
expression" to the above definition of "gender" and would mean
a person's gender-related appearance and behavior whether or
not stereotypically associated with the person's assigned sex
at birth.
In support of this provision, the California Faculty
Association, which represents 24,000 faculty, coaches,
counselors and librarians at the California State University,
writes, "Ýwe] Ýsupport] any policy that protects faculty,
staff and students from any discrimination on the basis of
sex, race, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression,
and age. By further clarifying anti-discrimination laws and
promoting equal protection in regards to gender identity and
gender expression, this bill will help ensure enforcement of
these laws for students, staff and educators within the CSU
system, and for California citizens in general." By expressly
adding gender identity and gender expression to the codes,
rather than referencing the definition by cross-reference,
schools and students will more clearly understand that
transgender and gender non-conforming students and teachers
must be provided with equal rights and opportunities.
d. Insurance Anti-discrimination Statutes
Under existing law, an insurance provider for life or
disability insurance shall not fail or refuse to accept an
application for insurance based on the applicant's race,
color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, or sexual
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orientation. This bill would expressly add gender, gender
identity, and gender expression to this list. As with the
other previously discussed provisions, these terms are being
expressly added to this section, rather than being referred to
by a cross-reference.
Existing law also states that an insurer shall not cancel or
refuse to renew an insurance policy for a religious
institution, educational institution, or nonprofit group if a
hate crime has been committed against the organization and the
group submitted a claim based on that crime. As defined in
existing law, in this section a "hate crime" is a crime
perpetrated against an organization or a member of the
organization based on the actual or perceived race, color,
religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, gender, or
sexual orientation of the organization or member of the
organization. This bill would expressly add gender identity,
and gender expression to this list.
Further, the Healthy Families program must be administered
without regard to a person's gender, race, creed, color,
sexual orientation, health status, disability, or occupation.
This bill would require that the Healthy Families program be
administered without regard to a person's gender identity, or
gender expression, thus expressly prohibiting the Healthy
Families program from discrimination on these bases.
e. Anti-Discrimination Labor Statute
Under existing law, when determining whether to grant or deny
a worker's compensation claim, if an employee is injured or
killed by a third party, no personal relationship shall be
deemed to exist between the employee and third party solely
because the third party's personal beliefs relating to his or
her perception of the employee's race, religious creed, color,
national origin, age, gender, disability, sex, or sexual
orientation. This bill would add gender identity and gender
expression to this list.
4. Opposition's concerns:
The Capitol Resource Family Impact, in association with the
Capitol Resource Institute, in opposition to the bill, argues
that "Ýthis bill] is yet another attempt to further create
gender confusion in society by loosely defining and altering a
person's natural sex through the codification of gender identity
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and expression as a protected class."
5. If approved, this bill should be sent back to the Senate
Rules Committee
The Senate Rules Committee has requested that, should this bill
be approved by this committee, it should be sent back to the
Rules Committee for consideration of a request by the Senate
Committee on Public Safety to hear the bill.
Support : American Civil Liberties Union; American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO;
California Communities United Institute; California Employment
Lawyers Association; California Faculty Association; California
National Organization for Women; Consumer Attorneys of
California; Public Advocates; Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center;
The Trevor Project
Opposition : Capitol Resource Family Impact; Capitol Resource
Institute
HISTORY
Source : Equality California; Transgender Law Center; Gay
Straight Alliance Network
Related Pending Legislation : SB 559 (Padilla) would add
"genetic information" to the list of prohibited bases of
discrimination under the Unruh Civil Rights Act and the Fair
Employment and Housing Act. This bill is currently in the
Assembly Committee on Judiciary.
Prior Legislation :
AB 1400 (Laird, Chapter 420, Statutes of 2005.) (See
Background.)
AB 196 (Leno, Chapter 164, Statutes of 2003) imported the
definition of "gender" from the hate crimes statute into the
Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), thereby extending the
FEHA prohibition against discrimination to that based on
perceptions of an individual's gender, regardless of whether the
perceived gender characteristics are different from those
traditionally associated with the individual's sex at birth.
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Prior Vote :
Assembly Floor (Ayes 54, Noes 24)
Assembly Committee on Appropriations (Ayes 12, Noes 5)
Assembly Committee on Judiciary (Ayes 7, Noes 3)
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