Discrimination in employment.

Existing law, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) , protects and safeguards the right and opportunity of all persons to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination or abridgment on account of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, marital status, sex, age, or sexual orientation. FEHA provides that it does not prohibit an employer from refusing to employ an individual because of his or her age if the law compels or provides for that refusal. This bill would provide that FEHA does not prohibit an employer from providing health benefits or health care reimbursement plans to retired persons that are altered, reduced, or eliminated when the retiree becomes eligible for Medicare benefits.