Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are entitled to full and equal accommodations in all business establishments regardless of specified characteristics, including sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status.

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), establishes the Civil Rights Department within the Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and sets forth its powers and duties relating to enforcement of civil rights laws with respect to housing and employment and to protect and safeguard the right of all persons to obtain and hold employment without discrimination based on specified characteristics or status. Existing law prohibits an employer and other specified entities from harassing an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services pursuant to a contract, because of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status, if the entity, or its agents or supervisors, knows or should have known of that conduct and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

This bill would require the department to establish a pilot program on or before January 1, 2025, to recognize businesses that create environments free from discrimination and harassment and would require the department to develop criteria to qualify for recognition, including, among other things, demonstrating compliance with the Unruh Civil Rights Act. The bill would require the department to provide a certificate to qualifying businesses and publish on its internet website a database of businesses receiving that certificate. The bill would require the department to evaluate whether that recognition is effective on or before January 1, 2028, as specified. The bill would provide that recognition under the pilot program does not establish and is not relevant to any defense of claims brought under existing law. The bill would repeal its provisions on July 1, 2028.