What does FEHA stand for in California?

FEHA stands for California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, which protects workers from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. This guide covers protected classes, disability accommodations, employer duties, complaint options, deadlines, and possible damages.

By Brad Nakase, Attorney

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Fair Employment Housing Act

3. What are FEHA’s elements?

4. What is disability as defined by the FEHA?

5. FEHA Regulations 2016

6. FEHA: What does it permit?

7. FEHA Requirements and Regulations in California

8. Examples of Disability Discrimination

9. FEHA discrimination in every business action

10. Is it applicable to my employer?

11. My employer breached the FEHA: Do I have choices?

12. Statute of Limitations

13. Damages that an employee may claim

14. The significance of the FEHA & ADA “Interactive Procedure” and the actions that employers need to take

Introduction

The FEHA California is a state employment law that protects employees against unscrupulous employers. It covers employers in the private and public sectors. Employment agencies and labor unions are also in its purview.

Fair Employment Housing Act

CA Code 12940 lists some classes as FEHA-protected.

Age
Color
Ancestry
Gender
Disability
Marital status
Genetic information
Military or veteran status
Medical conditions
Race
National origin
Religious creed
Religion
Sexual orientation
Sex (including pregnancy)

The FEHA California law provides protection against retaliation for employees who file a FEHA complaint or for those who help a coworker file a FEHA complaint. Any employee who complains about practices that violate the provisions of the FEHA California Act is protected from retaliation by employers. FEHA disability discrimination provisions prohibit discrimination against workers with disabilities.

Employers are prohibited from discriminating against workers 40 years of age or older by the FEHA’s age discrimination safeguards.

What are FEHA’s elements?

There are four primary components of the FEHA Act:

1. An employee engaged in an activity covered by the FEHA Act.

2. The employer reacted against the employee by demoting them, firing them, or taking other actions.

3. The employee’s activity, which was covered by the FEHA Act, resulted in the negative employment action.

4. The improper employment action caused harm to the employee.

What is disability as defined by the FEHA?

The ADA FEHA and the FEHA Act both provide a description of disability, but the FEHA edition gives workers a far broader range of options for submitting a claim. The following is the FEHA description of disability:

A physical or mental disability that restricts a significant life function. It includes the capacity to work. Disabilities covered by FEHA would include things like stress, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, anxiety, frequent urination, & PTSD.

An employee must fulfill at least one of the following requirements to be covered according to the FEHA California Act due to a disability:

Possess a physical or mental disability that prevents you from engaging in a key life activity
Possess a history of an illness or medical records
Is regarded as having a disability and has experienced prejudice as a result.

Employees who look after close relatives with disabilities are likewise protected by California’s anti-discrimination legislation. This means that you may be covered as a caregiver under the FEHA Act if you have to skip work to care for a member of the family who has a disability recognized by California law.

All employers with five or more workers are required by the CFRA to offer job-protected time off to care for a relative. It includes a parent, child, spouse, domestic partner, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling who has a serious health issue. It also covers the worker’s own critical health issue.

The CFRA mandates that businesses give their workers time off so they can develop a bond with a new kid who joins their family. It covers adoption, birth, & foster care. The leave has to be taken during the initial year of the employee’s connection with the child. There must be employment protection for the leave.

Additionally, employers having five or more workers must offer no more than 4 months of leave for disability to any worker who is deemed disabled due to pregnancy, childbirth, or an associated medical condition. Either of the following could be a pregnancy disability:

Severe sickness in the morning
Pregnancy care
Postpartum care
Requirement for bed rest
Diabetes during pregnancy
Hypertension brought on during pregnancy
Pre-eclampsia
Depression following childbirth
Conditions related to lactation (like mastitis)
Pregnancy termination or loss
Recuperation following a pregnancy termination or loss

Must Read: How to Apply for Temporary Disability in California: Eligibility, Payments, and Filing Steps

FEHA Regulations 2016

California added protection against prejudice caused by national origin within FEHA-015ha-01 to the FEHA regulations in 2016. Among these new safeguards are an individual’s real or perceived:

The individual’s name is linked to a national origin group
Physical, linguistic, or cultural traits connected to a national origin group
Tribal affiliation
Relationship with or union with a member of a national origin group
Involvement in national origin groups’ usage of churches, temples, mosques, schools, or other places of worship
Participation in a national origin group-affiliated organization

FEHA: What does it permit?

An employer’s actions may occasionally seem discriminatory. But they are not. Employers have the authority to refuse to hire/transfer someone to a new role for a few reasons.

The worker would put himself or another person in immediate risk.
The worker is unable to carry out the fundamental tasks of the position.
Reasonable accommodations cannot be made by the employer.

FEHA California law acknowledges that employers possess the right not to endanger their company or their employees. Discrimination does not exist in these circumstances. Businesses are not allowed to discriminate against current & prospective employees based on potential harm to them or others in the future.

FEHA Requirements and Regulations in California

California and FEHA laws mandate that employers take the following actions to stay in accordance with the law:

Establish FEHA regulations against harassment.
Make anti-discrimination policies.
Provide staff with frequent training on discrimination & harassment.
Give printed versions of all FEHA Act policies to every employee in English. It ought to be given in an additional language spoken by at least ten percent of the workforce.

Both supervisory & nonsupervisory staff must participate in sexual harassment training if the organization has five or more employees. An employee may file a complaint with DFEH if they feel that their company has not followed these training standards.

Companies with a minimum of five staff members are required to provide supervisory staff with a two-hour training program. Employees who are not supervisors must have access to one hour of training. Every employee must receive this training within six months after they are hired. It must be redone every two years.

These details must be covered in every sexual harassment training.

Definition of Sexual harassment. It is explained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act & the Fair Employment and Housing Act.
The laws forbidding sexual harassment at work
Examples of actions that fall under the category of sexual harassment
The company’s procedures for survivors of sexual assault
The supervisor’s duty to report instances of sexual harassment
The confidentiality-related constraints of the complaint procedure
Resources for sexual harassment victims
What staff members ought to do if a supervisor is charged with sexual harassment
How the company will address instances of sexual harassment
“Abusive conduct” (Govt. Code section 12950.1)
Ways to implement an anti-sexual misconduct policy

Examples of Disability Discrimination

In California employment, disability discrimination is a prevalent and complex type of discrimination. This type of discrimination can take many different forms. Individuals who “mean well” but behave in a way that is detrimental to a disabled worker can occasionally be the source of disability discrimination. Gathering evidence requires an understanding of what constitutes disability discrimination.

Being denied awards and activities: Due to your disability, your employer may purposefully deny you incentives and activities. Hikes and events planned specifically over a healthcare schedule are examples of activities.
Being compelled to leave: Employers may launch a campaign to make your employment more difficult in an effort to force you to resign.
Deliberate sabotage: It is when an employer makes decisions or changes that don’t help you. Examples of this could be putting things on a high shelf, removing doorstops, & uninstalling accommodating software.
Harassment & unwillingness to stop harassment: It includes harassment from supervisors or coworkers. They are aware of your disability. The management does not address the misconduct.
Insensitive & derogatory remarks: Cruel, ridiculing, or undercutting comments.
Abrupt attitude shift: Your employer or coworkers may have a sudden attitude shift if your impairment becomes noticeable.
Refusing to provide you with a reasonable accommodation: Your employer may refuse to provide you with a reasonable accommodation. The grounds for it are unreasonable. They purposefully refuse to make accommodations. They decline to engage in talks.
Responsibilities are reduced: The employer takes away some of your responsibilities. It is done after they find out that you have a disability.
Rejection of opportunities: Regardless of your performance, an employer may not choose you to oversee projects or frequently pass you up for a promotion.

FEHA discrimination in every business action

The FEHA Act was enacted to prohibit discrimination in every aspect of business by the state’s employers.

Advertisements for jobs (digital, radio, TV, print, etc.)
Applications for jobs
The procedure for screening
Candidate interviews
Recruiting, advancing, firing, moving, or separating workers
Conditions at work
Taking part in training, apprenticeship programs, employee associations, or unions

Is it applicable to my employer?

FEHA, for the most part, covers all businesses with five or more workers. The FEHA Act exempts businesses with fewer than five employees. Harassment is still illegal if a company employs just one person or works with a single independent contractor. The FEHA Act’s provisions apply to all government companies regardless of size.

My employer breached the FEHA: Do I have choices?

If you were fired or subjected to retaliation for doing something covered by the FEHA Act, you have three options.

Inform the retaliation activity to your immediate supervisor if you are still employed, or to the HR department if your boss carried out the retaliation.
Submit FEHA allegations to the DFEH (Department of Fair Employment and Housing) of California.
You may file a lawsuit against the company for retaliation or unfair dismissal after receiving the right to sue notification from the DFEH.

Ensure you’ve got the following prepared for the investigation when you file a dispute with the DFEH.

Documentation of the event
Details of the event
Contact details for the person or organization you think hurt you
Copies of supporting documentation for your assertion
All witnesses’ names and contact details

Statute of Limitations

In the past, an FEHA claim had a one-year statute of limitations from the date of the legal violation. Nevertheless, the statute of limitations was extended to three years from the occurrence of the FEHA retaliation breach under the new 2021 FEHA laws and revisions. Additionally, you have a year from the date you get the FEHA California notification to sue the DFEH to file a complaint for wrongful termination or retaliation.

Damages that an employee may claim

In the event that you bring a retaliation-related FEHA sexual harassment or FEHA disability complaint, you may be entitled to the following damages:

Compensation for psychological distress and suffering
Reduced income and benefits
FEHA legal fees
Punitive damages. It is given by the judge to penalize the defendant for fraud, oppression, or malice. It happens in cases where the worker was wrongly fired or subjected to retaliation.

Employee discrimination on the basis of protected classes is prohibited by California law. It is advisable to see a knowledgeable FEHA California lawyer right away if your boss has retaliated against you for engaging in an activity covered under the FEHA Act.

The significance of the FEHA & ADA “Interactive Procedure” and the actions that employers need to take

Employers are required by the FEHA and ADA to participate in an “interactive process” and provide disabled employees with reasonable accommodations. If your impairment is evident or known, your employer must start the process. Your employer should be aware of this “interactive procedure” and know how to comply with the regulations.

The interactive process’s goal is to determine whether you are capable of doing the essential tasks associated with your position. Your employer is required to make a reasonable accommodation if it is available. The following actions can be taken by your employer to accomplish this goal:

1. Determine Whether Your Disability Is Protected by the ADA or FEHA

A disability is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a real physical or mental impairment. It restricts significant activities of daily living. However, according to FEHA, a disability is any physical or mental impairment that only limits a major life activity.

2. Determine Your Job’s Essential Roles

Your company should evaluate your work and determine the essential responsibilities of your employment.

3. Make a Medical Certification Request

While an employer may require paperwork outlining your functional restrictions pertinent to critical job activities, they are generally not allowed to inquire about the particulars of your medical condition. Only a medical certification outlining the functional limits resulting from your handicap may be requested by the employer.

4. Establish Whether Your Essential Duties Are Affected by Functional Limitations

Based on your problems with function, an employer should determine if you will be unable to do any tasks. The employer ought to converse with you about whether these restrictions impede you from carrying out necessary tasks.

5. Take into Account Any Reasonable Adjustments

Any reasonable accommodations that allow you to do critical tasks should be taken into consideration by your employer. The employer should have a sincere conversation with you to determine what reasonable accommodations you may recommend.

Only when the employer asks for your opinion can the process be interactive. However, an employer is only obligated to provide you with reasonable accommodations; they are not bound to provide you with preferred accommodations. Furthermore, the employer shouldn’t make accommodations that would put you through unnecessary hardship.

6. Safeguarding Personal Health Data

According to the law that established the “interactive procedure,” your employer may obtain a medical evaluation from a designated healthcare professional. The medical assessment needs to be relevant to the work and in line with the requirements of the employment. It must be limited to identifying the functional restrictions that require appropriate accommodations.

New and comprehensive regulations pertaining to medical and psychiatric evaluations and investigations are included in the modified legislation. Requiring a medical assessment prior to making a job offer to a candidate is prohibited. After a conditional offer of employment is made, it is likewise illegal for an employer to impose restrictions on the use of healthcare evaluations.

Additionally, the legislation permits the use of psychological or medical evaluations, including competence for duty evaluations, in the course of employment. Only when the tests satisfy the requirements for job-relatedness and business need may they be used.

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2,410

What does FEHA stand for in California?

Introduction

Fair Employment Housing Act

What are FEHA’s elements?

What is disability as defined by the FEHA?

FEHA Regulations 2016

FEHA: What does it permit?

FEHA Requirements and Regulations in California

Examples of Disability Discrimination

FEHA discrimination in every business action

Is it applicable to my employer?

My employer breached the FEHA: Do I have choices?

Statute of Limitations

Damages that an employee may claim

The significance of the FEHA & ADA “Interactive Procedure” and the actions that employers need to take

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