SB 1022

Bill Subjects

Abstract

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 agreement between the department and a respondent executed before the expiration of the applicable time period, for the length of time for which the department's investigation is extended due to the pendency of a petition to compel, as specified, and during a timely appeal within the department of the closure of the complaint by the department. If conference, conciliation, mediation, or persuasion fails to eliminate an unlawful practice, existing law requires the department to issue the person claiming to be aggrieved a right-to-sue notice if a civil action is not brought by the department, as specified. Existing law requires the department to issue a right-to-sue notice upon completion of its investigation for a complaint treated as a group or class complaint for purposes of investigation, conciliation, mediation, or civil action, within a specified time period after filing of the complaint. Existing law requires the deadlines related to issuing a right-to-sue notice be tolled during a dispute resolution proceeding beginning on the date that the department refers the case to its dispute resolution division and ending on the date that the department's dispute resolution division closes its mediation record and returns the case to the division that referred it. This bill would require the department to issue any right-to-sue notice, if the department determines that an aggrieved person's complaint relates to a complaint filed in the name of the director or a group or class complaint for purposes of investigation, conciliation, mediation, or civil action, as specified, upon request by the person claiming to be aggrieved or after the director's or group or class complaint has been fully and finally disposed of and all administrative proceedings, civil actions, appeals, or related proceedings have terminated. The bill would also require the deadlines related to issuing a right-to-sue notice to be tolled for the amount of time specified in any written agreement between the department and a respondent executed before the expiration of the applicable deadline, for the length of time for which the department's investigation is extended due the pendency of a petition to compel, as specified, and during a timely appeal within the department of the closure of the complaint by the department. Existing law authorizes an aggrieved person in relation to specified violations concerning housing discrimination to file a claim with the department. Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to file complaints in a like manner and specifies that no complaint may be filed after the expiration of one year from the date upon which the alleged violation occurred or terminated. This bill would, instead, make the provision prohibiting a complaint from being filed after the expiration of one year from the date upon which the alleged violation occurred or terminated applicable to a complaint filed with the department by the aggrieved person as described above. Existing law authorizes the department, in the case of failure to eliminate specified violations that have occurred, or that are about to occur, through conference, conciliation, mediation, or persuasion, or, if circumstances warrant, in advance thereof, to bring a civil action in the name of the department, acting in the public interest, on behalf of the aggrieved person as a real party in interest, as specified. Existing law authorizes the action to be filed in any county where the unlawful practice is alleged to have been committed, the records relevant to that practice are maintained and administered, the aggrieved party would have resided, or the defendant's residence or principal office is located, as specified. This bill would remove the provisions described above specifying the counties where the civil action may be filed. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12926 of the Government Code proposed by SB 1137 and AB 1815 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1137 or AB 1815, or all three bills, are enacted and this bill is enacted last.