|
As of October 1, 2026, California has passed several bills modifying California's extensive employment discrimination laws.
Overview of New Discrimination Laws
-
Anti-hate speech training: This law will require employers to include anti-hate speech training as part of all mandatory sexual harassment training that employers must already provide under California law. Beginning January 1, 2028, employers will be required to include guidance on recognizing, reporting and confronting hate speech, which is defined as speech that vilifies, humiliates or incites hatred against people based on a protected characteristic.
-
Menopause protections: This legislation adds menopause, perimenopause, postmenopause and related medical conditions as protected characteristics under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). This law goes into effect on January 1, 2027.
-
Sex discrimination: Effective January 1, 2027, this law adopts a uniform definition of sex discrimination for all state law purposes. The new definition encompasses discrimination based on actual or perceived:
- Assigned sex or gender category;
- Degree of conformity to sex or gender stereotypes;
- Gender, including gender identity, gender expression and access to or use of gender-affirming and related health care;
- Pregnancy or related medical conditions;
- Decision-making, access to care, or potential or actual use of a drug, device, product or service relating to pregnancy or related medical conditions;
- Sexual orientation; and
- Variations in sex characteristics, including intersex traits or differences in sex development.
California’s revised pay data reporting law raises penalties for an employer’s repeated failure to submit pay and demographic information required under California’s pay data reporting law. The law imposes a $200 fine (per employee) for a second violation, which increases up to $1,000 per employee for each subsequent violation.
California also enacted legislation related to bereavement leave which added “designated person” to the definition of “family member.” “Designated person” means any individual related to the employee by blood or whose association is equivalent to a family relationship. Based upon this change in law, employees may now identify their designated person at the time they request bereavement leave. However, employees are limited to one designated person per 12-month period for bereavement leave.
As such, employers must now update their bereavement leave policies and employee handbooks to ensure that the expanded definitions of “family member” and “designated person” are updated when it comes to bereavement leave.
| 
