Workplace discrimination in California

What California law protects

The Fair Employment and Housing Act, including Government Code section 12940, protects job applicants and employees. It covers decisions such as hiring, pay, promotion, benefits, assignments, and termination. Protection can apply to a characteristic someone thinks you have, even if that belief is wrong, and to association with someone who has a protected characteristic.

• FEHA's discrimination rules cover employers that regularly employ 5 or more people. Harassment rules cover employers with 1 or more employees. Retaliation for opposing discrimination or harassment, or for taking part in a complaint, is also prohibited. Source: GOV section 12926
• Government Code section 12940(h) prohibits retaliation for opposing discrimination or harassment or participating in a complaint. Harassment protections include employees, applicants, unpaid interns, volunteers, and contractors. Source: GOV section 12940
• The CRD poster lists ancestry, color, disability, genetic information, gender expression, gender identity, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, race, religion, reproductive health decisionmaking, sex/gender, and sexual orientation. Age protection covers people 40 and above. Source: CRD: Workplace discrimination poster
• The poster includes physical, developmental, mental health or psychiatric disabilities, and HIV/AIDS. Medical condition includes genetic characteristics, cancer, and a record or history of cancer. Race includes associated traits such as hair texture and hairstyle. National origin includes language restrictions and having a driver's license issued under Vehicle Code 12801.9, which is available regardless of immigration status. Religion includes dress and grooming; sex/gender includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions. Source: CRD: Workplace discrimination poster

Guides by type

Choose the guide closest to your concern. More than one protection may apply to the same experience.

• Age discriminationAge-based hiring, pay, and other job decisions.
• Disability discriminationUnequal treatment linked to a disability.
• Sex and gender discriminationTreatment tied to sex, gender identity, or gender expression.
• Pregnancy discriminationPregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related conditions.
• Race and national originRace, ancestry, language restrictions, and national origin.
• Religious discriminationReligious beliefs, dress, grooming, and accommodation.
• Sexual orientation discriminationJob decisions based on actual or perceived sexual orientation.
• Harassment overviewUnwelcome conduct tied to protected characteristics.
• RetaliationPunishment for opposing discrimination or using protected rights.

What it can look like

These situations can raise concerns worth reviewing. They are examples, not findings that a particular employer violated the law.

• You are passed over for a promotion after a manager says customers would prefer someone of a different race.
• You disclose a pregnancy, and your supervisor removes your regular assignments because they assume you cannot do the work.
• You wear religious clothing, and a manager moves you away from customers because of complaints about your appearance.
• You apply for a job, and the interviewer says your same-sex spouse would not fit the company image.
• You report disability-based insults, and your supervisor cuts your shifts because you complained.

What usually is not covered

Look at why the treatment happened and which protection applies. An upsetting experience alone does not answer that question.

• Unfairness alone is not necessarily discrimination under FEHA. There must be a connection to a protected characteristic or another protected right.
• A workplace disagreement or a rude supervisor is not automatically protected-characteristic harassment. The reason for the conduct and its seriousness matter.
• FEHA does not require every applicant to be hired or every employee to be promoted. Employers can use lawful, job-related reasons that are not discriminatory.

Related protections

Different protections can overlap. Reporting discrimination or requesting a protected accommodation may raise retaliation concerns if the employer punishes you for doing so. Harassment involves conduct directed at you, while discrimination can involve an employment decision. Keep those events separate in your notes, even when they are connected.

• Retaliation
• Harassment overview
• Disability accommodation

What to keep a record of

A clear record helps explain what happened without guessing about motives. Keep your own account accurate, and note any gaps in your memory rather than filling them in.

Do not take confidential company documents that you are not allowed to keep.

• Write down dates, names, locations, and the words you remember. Separate what you directly saw or heard from what someone else told you. Note who was present and who made each employment decision.
• Keep texts and emails you received, along with schedules, pay stubs, job postings, and performance reviews you are allowed to keep. These can help show what changed and whether the employer gave a reason.
• Save your complaints, accommodation requests, and the responses you received. Keep a simple timeline of the request, the reply, and any later change in pay, hours, duties, or treatment.

Where to file and deadlines

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) handles FEHA employment complaints. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handles federal employment discrimination matters. Their procedures and coverage are not identical. Do not assume an internal workplace complaint replaces contacting an agency, or that a state deadline is also the federal deadline.

Deadlines can depend on your facts, so talk to a lawyer soon.

• For employment complaints, you must submit an intake form to CRD within 3 years of the unlawful act. In limited cases this can be extended, for example up to 90 days when you discovered the facts later, or up to 1 year after you turn 18 if you were a minor. See Government Code section 12960. Source: CRD complaint process
• After you receive a right-to-sue notice, you generally have 1 year from the date of the notice to file a lawsuit. That period can be paused in some situations, such as during CRD dispute resolution. If you also want to keep federal rights, the EEOC deadline for California workers is generally 300 days from the discrimination. Source: GOV section 12965
• For California workers, the deadline to file an EEOC charge is generally 300 calendar days, including for age claims, because California has its own law on the same bases. Filing a charge with either the EEOC or CRD generally counts as filing with the other agency. Source: EEOC: Time limits

• Where to file in California

Common questions

Sources

• California Government Code section 12940
• CRD: Employment
• CRD: Workplace discrimination poster
• CRD: Complaint process
• VEH section 12801.9
• GOV section 12926
• GOV section 12960
• GOV section 12965
• EEOC: Time limits
• EEOC: Filing a charge

Last reviewed October 28, 2026

This website provides general information about California law and is not legal advice. Information here may not apply to your situation.