DFEH OVERVIEW

State of CaliforniaDepartment of Fair Employment and

Housing

EQUAL RIGHTS 101

MISSION STATEMENT• The Mission of the Department

of Fair Employment and Housing is to protect Californians from employment, housing, public accommodation discrimination, and hate violence.

ROLE OF THE DEPARTMENT

• To accept, investigate, and resolve complaints alleging discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and hate violence

ENFORCEMENT DIVISIONEMPLOYMENT DISTRICT

OFFICES• Bakersfield• Fresno• Los Angeles (2 districts)• Oakland• Sacramento• San Diego• San Francisco (located in Oakland)

• San Jose• Santa Ana

LAWS ENFORCED BY DFEH

DFEH ENFORCES:

• California Fair Employment & Housing Act

• Unruh Civil Rights Act

• Ralph Civil Rights Act

JURISDICTIONEmployers covered by the law:

• Private & Public employers within California• All State departments and local governments• Employment agencies• Labor organizations• Training programs

Employer includes:

• Any person regularly employing five or more persons • Only one person in harassment cases

THE FAIR EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING ACT

For employment, prohibits discrimination based on:

• Race• Color• Ancestry• Religion• Age (40 and over)• Sex (including pregnancy )• Sexual Orientation• Marital Status• National Origin (including language restrictions)

THE FAIR EMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING ACT

Also includes:

• Medical Condition (cancer or genetic characteristics)

• Disability (mental or physical – includes HIV and AIDS)

• Denial of Family Care Leave• Retaliation for filing a complaint, participating in a

DFEH investigation or for opposing unlawful discrimination

• Retaliation for reporting patient abuse by health facilities

These categories are often referred to as“protected basis”

HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE BEING DISCRIMINATED AGAINST?

• Hiring Questions• Grooming Standards• Sexual Harassment• Reasonable accommodation due to

disability or religious beliefs• Leave of absence under the Pregnancy

Disability Leave (PDL) or California Family Rights Act Leave (CFRA)

HIRING QUESTIONS

• It is against the law for an employer to advertise or ask questions relating to a protected basis.

EXAMPLES OF ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE

QUESTIONS

HIRING QUESTIONS-SEX, MARITAL STATUS, FAMILY

ACCEPTABLE Name and address of parent or guardian if applicant is

minor

Statement of company policy regarding work assignment of

employees who are related

UNACCEPTABLE

Questions to indicate applicant’s sex, marital status,number/ages of children or dependents Questions regarding pregnancy, child birth, or birth

control

Name and address of relative, spouse, or children of an adult

applicant

HIRING QUESTIONS-RELIGION

ACCEPTABLE

Statement by employer of regular days, hours, or shifts to be worked

UNACCEPTABLE

Questions regarding applicant’s religion orreligious days observed

HIRING QUESTIONS-DISABILITY (APPLICANTS)

ACCEPTABLE

Employer may inquire if applicant can perform Essential functions of the job

Statement that employment offer may be made contingent upon passing a job-related

mental/physical examination

UNACCEPTABLE

Questions regarding the applicant’s general health,

medical condition, or mental/physical disability

YOU’RE HIRED!

ONCE YOU START YOUR NEW JOB, CAN YOU DRESS ANY WAY YOU WANT ?

GROOMING STANDARDS

• Employers can impose physical appearance, grooming or dress standards.

• Standards should be applied uniformly – cannot burden the individual in his or her

employment– must be flexible enough to take into account

religious practices and disability accommodations.

GROOMING STANDARDS

• Employers may not refuse to allow an employee to wear pants on account of the sex of the employee.

• An employer may require an employee to wear a uniform or costume in particular occupations.

GROOMING STANDARDS

• Employers may allow women to wear earrings but not allow men

• Employers may establish hair length standards

GROOMING STANDARDS

• Special Considerations are given to:

– Complaints regarding facial hair, hair length, or clothing related to a religious belief or racial/cultural identity

– Complaints where a skin condition disability precludes shaving

WORK ENVIRONMENT

RIGHT TO A DISCRIMINATION/HARASSMENT-

FREE WORK ENVIORNMENT

Harassment – behavior that threatens, intimidates,

humiliates, embarrasses, andinterferes with your work

Illegal Harassment– Harassment is linked to a protected

basis like racial harassment, religious harassment, and sexual harassment

RIGHT TO A DISCRIMINATION/HARASSMENT

FREE-WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Sexual harassment is the most prevalent type of harassment in the workplace

• Recent studies estimate that – over 200,000 teenagers are sexually

assaulted at work – hundreds of thousands more are subjected

to some form of sexual harassment

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

•What is sexual harassment?•Unwelcome and unwanted verbal, physical, or visual behavior of a sexual nature

VERBAL SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Sexual advances• Sexual propositions• Derogatory sexual comments or slurs• Sexual jokes • Graphic verbal commentaries about

an individual’s body• Suggestive/obscene language.

PHYSICAL SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Touching• Assaulting• Rape• Impeding and/or blocking

movement

VISUAL SEXUAL HARASSMENT

• Leering• Sexual gestures• Displaying sexually suggestive

object(s), picture(s), or cartoons• Displaying pornographic material

on computer or otherwise

“QUID PRO QUO”

• “Conditional” sexual harassment – conduct that makes an employment

benefit contingent upon succumbing to sexual advances

• Promising employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors

ACCOMMODATION AND LEAVE RIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION

• What happens if you become disabled?

• What if you are a person with a disability?

ACCOMMODATION

• You have the right to request a reasonable accommodation from your employer:

– If you have a disability and it is medically necessary

– If you are pregnant

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

• Reasonable accommodation – ensures equal opportunity in the job

application process– enables an individual to perform the

essential job functions– ensures equal enjoyment of the terms,

conditions, and privileges of employment

EXAMPLES OF REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

• Making existing facilities accessible and usable • Job restructuring• Reassignment to a vacant position• Part-time or modified work

schedules• Buying or modifying equipment • Leave of absence

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

Employer may be “excused” from having to provide a reasonable accommodation if they can show “undue hardship”

INTERACTIVE PROCESS

• In response to a request for reasonable accommodation, employer is required to engage in a timely, good faith interactive process to determine effective reasonable accommodations if any

• Separate violation of the FEHA

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

RELIGION

• What happens if you need time off for a religious observance?

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION

• You can request accommodation for your religion if your religious beliefs or observance conflict with your job

– Stuff like time off or wearing clothing as part of a religious observance

LEAVE RIGHTS

PREGNANCY DISABILITY LEAVE

• “PDL” allows up to 4 months leave if you are pregnant and unable to work due to your pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition– Employer must return you to your same

job

– Also covers time off needed for prenatal care.

CALIFORNIA FAMILY RIGHTS ACT (CFRA)

• ”CFRA” allows up to 12 weeks of leave per year for eligible employees for:

– the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of your child

– your own serious health condition or that of your child, parent, or spouse

• Employer must return you to your same or a similar job

OTHERS KINDS OF

DISCRIMINATION

TERMINATION

• Termination accounts for about one-third of complaints filed with DFEH.

• Generally, most employment in CA is “at will”. This means that the employee or employer can terminate the employment at anytime, with or without cause.

HOWEVER, IT IS ILLEGAL TOTERMINATE AN EMPLOYEE DUE TO A

PROTECTED BASIS.

FILING A COMPLAINT

•What do you do if you believe you have been a victim of discrimination and/or harassment?

COMPLAINT PROCESS

• Communication Center

• Interview• Investigation• Determination• Public Hearing/Civil

Litigation

COMPLAINT PROCESS

• STAGE ONE– COMMUNICATION CENTER

• You may schedule an appointment through the Communication Center or online by visiting our Web site

• A Pre-Complaint Questionnaire is mailed with a letter with the scheduled date and time of the appointment

COMPLAINT PROCESS

• STAGE TWO– INTERVIEW

•You will be interviewed to determine if there is a basis and sufficient information to accept the complaint for investigation.

COMPLAINT PROCESS• STAGE THREE

– INVESTIGATION• Once the complaint is accepted for

investigation, the Department has 365 days from the filing date to complete an investigation into the complaint

• At any point during this process, a complaint may be resolved by way of a No Fault Settlement.

COMPLAINT PROCESS• STAGE FOUR

– DETERMINATION

• At the completion of the investigation, the Department will determine if there is sufficient evidence to forward the complaint to the Legal Division for further processing.

• If there is insufficient evidence, the

complaint will be closed.

COMPLAINT PROCESS• STAGE FIVE

– PUBLIC HEARING/CIVIL LITIGATION:

Once the Department determines that there has been a violation of the law, a public hearing or trial is scheduled

If a decision is made that a violation of the law occurred, a remedy is awarded.

REMEDIES

• Reinstatement to job

• Back pay• Out-of-pocket losses• Policy development• Training• Emotional distress

damages• Administrative fines

HELPFUL LINKS• There are many other employment

issues that are not covered under the laws enforced by DFEH such as those relating to:– Work Permits– Work Injury– Unpaid Wages– Unemployment Insurance– Disability Insurance– Paid Family Leave

QUESTIONS

DFEH CONTACT INFORMATION

•Communication Center:1-800-884-1684

•Web site: www.dfeh.ca.gov