AB 1520, as introduced, Committee on Judiciary. Civil rights.
The Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 provides, in part, that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, on account of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual orientation.
This bill would repeal the provision entitling the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, and would instead state the findings of the Legislature that the above-described provision was enacted as part of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 51.7 of the Civil Code is amended to
2read:
(a) All persons within the jurisdiction of this state have
4the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of
P2 1violence, committed against their persons or property because of
2political affiliation, or on account of any characteristic listed or
3defined in subdivision (b) or (e) of Section 51, or position in a
4labor dispute, or because another person perceives them to have
5one or more of those characteristics. The identification in this
6subdivision of particular bases of discrimination is illustrative
7rather than restrictive.
8(b) (1) A person shall not require another person to waive any
9legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation
10of this section, as a condition of entering into a contract for goods
11or
services, including the right to file and pursue a civil action or
12complaint with, or otherwise notify, the Attorney General or any
13other public prosecutor, or law enforcement agency, the
14Department of Fair Employment and Housing, or any court or
15other governmental entity.
16(2) A person shall not refuse to enter into a contract with, or
17refuse to provide goods or services to, another person on the basis
18that the other person refuses to waive any legal right, penalty,
19remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this section,
20including the right to file and pursue a civil action or complaint
21with, or otherwise notify, the Attorney General or any other public
22prosecutor, or law enforcement agency, the Department of Fair
23Employment and Housing, or any other governmental entity.
24(3) Any waiver of any legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or
25procedure for a violation of this section,
including the right to file
26and pursue a civil action or complaint with, or otherwise notify,
27the Attorney General or any other public prosecutor, or law
28enforcement agency, the Department of Fair Employment and
29Housing, or any other governmental entity shall be knowing and
30voluntary,begin delete andend delete in writing, and expressly not made as a condition
31of entering into a contract for goods or services or as a condition
32of providing or receiving goods and services.
33(4) Any waiver of any legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or
34procedure for a violation of this section that is required as a
35condition of entering into a contract for goods or services shall be
36deemed involuntary, unconscionable, against public policy, and
37unenforceable. Nothing in this subdivision shall affect the
38enforceability or validity of any other provision of the contract.
39(5) Any person who seeks to enforce a waiver of any legal right,
40penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this section
P3 1shall have the burden of proving that the waiver was knowing and
2voluntary and not made as a condition of the contract or of
3providing or receiving the goods or services.
4(6) The exercise of a person’s right to refuse to waive any legal
5right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation of this
6section, including a rejection of a contract requiring a waiver, shall
7not affect any otherwise legal terms of a contract or an agreement.
8(7) This subdivision shall not apply to any agreement to waive
9any legal rights, penalties, remedies, forums, or procedures for a
10violation of this section after a legal claim has arisen.
11(8) This subdivision shall apply to any agreement to waive any
12legal right, penalty, remedy, forum, or procedure for a violation
13of this section, including an agreement to accept private arbitration,
14entered into, altered, modified, renewed, or extended on or after
15January 1, 2015.
16(c) This section does not apply to statements concerning
17positions in a labor dispute that are made during otherwise lawful
18labor picketing.
19(d) The Legislature finds and declares that this section was
20enacted as part of the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, in Chapter
211293 of the Statutes of 1976.
22(d)
end delete
23begin insert(e)end insert Nothing in this section shall be construed to negate or
24otherwise abrogate the provisions of Sections 1668, 1953, and
253513.
Section 1 of Chapter 1293 of the Statutes of 1976 is
27repealed.
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
29Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976.
O
99