CA SB 1022

Title: Enforcement of civil rights.
Author: Nancy Skinner

Summary
SB 1022, as amended, Skinner. Enforcement of civil rights. Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), establishes the Civil Rights Department under the direction of an executive officer known as the Director of Civil Rights, to enforce 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 upon specified characteristics or status. The FEHA makes certain discriminatory employment and housing practices unlawful, and authorizes a person claiming to be aggrieved by an alleged unlawful practice to file a verified complaint with the department. The FEHA requires the department to make an investigation in connection with a filed complaint alleging facts sufficient to constitute a violation of the FEHA, and requires the department to endeavor to eliminate the unlawful practice by conference, conciliation, and persuasion.Existing law defines terms for purposes of these provisions, in connection with unlawful practices, as specified. This bill would define the term “group or class complaint” for these provisions to include any complaint alleging a pattern or practice.Existing law prohibits a complaint alleging a violation of specified civil rights provisions from being filed after specified timeframes following the date that the alleged unlawful practice, or refusal to cooperate with remediation of the alleged unlawful practice, occurred. Existing law allows those filing periods to be extended under specified circumstances. Existing law provides that notwithstanding other tolling or limitations period, the time for a complainant to file a civil action alleging a violation of specified civil right provisions shall be tolled during the period beginning with the filing of a complaint with the department until either the department files a civil action or one year after the department issues a written notice to a complainant that it has closed its investigation without electing to file a complaint.This bill would make the filing deadlines for a complaint alleging a violation of those specified civil rights or alleging housing discrimination inapplicable to a complaint filed by the director or their authorized representative, or treated by the director or their authorized representative, as a group or class complaint that is alleged to have occurred within a period of 7 years or fewer before the date the complaint was filed. This bill would provide that notwithstanding any other tolling or limitations period, the time for a complainant to file a civil action under these provisions shall be tolled during the period beginning with the filing of a complaint with the department until either the department files a civil action or one year after the department issues a written notice to a complainant that it has closed its investigation without electing to file a complaint, or if the complainant timely appeals within the department the closure of their complaint, written notice to the complainant that it has remained closed following the appeal.Existing law authorizes the director to bring a civil action in the name of the department, acting in the public interest, on behalf of an aggrieved person if conference, conciliation, mediation, or persuasion fails to eliminate an unlawful practice. Existing law specifies deadlines under which a civil action shall be brought, if it is to be brought, after the filing of the complaint, including deadlines for a complaint that is treated by the director as a group or class complaint for purposes of investigation, conciliation, mediation, or civil action, as specified, and a complaint alleging specified violations. Existing law requires those deadlines to be tolled during a dispute resolution proceeding.This bill would require those deadlines for filing a civil action to be tolled during a dispute resolution proceeding, for the amount of time specified in any written agre

Status
Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

Bill Documents
CA SB 1022 - 04/11/24 - Amended Senate
04/11/24 - CA SB 1022 (04/11/24 - Amended Senate)