Civil rights: waiver of rights.

Existing civil rights provisions provide that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of political affiliation, or on account of position in a labor dispute, or sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition, or because another person perceives them to have one or more of those characteristics. Those civil rights provisions provide civil remedies for violations of their provisions. This bill would prohibit a person from requiring a waiver of the protections afforded under those provisions as a condition of entering into a contract for the provision of goods or services, including the right to file and pursue a civil action or complaint with, or otherwise notify, the Attorney General or any other public prosecutor, or law enforcement agency, the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, or any court or other governmental entity. This bill would require any waiver of the protections afforded under those provisions to be knowing and voluntary, and in writing, and expressly not made as a condition of entering into the contract or as a condition of providing or receiving goods or services. This bill would provide that any person seeking the enforcement of a waiver of the protections afforded under those civil rights provisions shall have the burden of proving that the waiver was knowing and voluntary and not made as a condition of the contract or of providing or receiving the goods or services. The bill's provisions would apply to contracts entered into, removed, altered, modified, or extended on and after January 1, 2011. This bill would provide that its provisions shall not be construed to negate other specified provisions. This bill would include legislative findings and declarations with respect to the public policy underlying its provisions. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 51.7 of the Civil Code as proposed by AB 2706, to be operative only if AB 2706 and this bill are both enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2011, both bills amend those sections, and this bill is enacted after AB 2706 is enacted.