Fair Employment and Housing Act: military veterans.

(1) Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, 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, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, or sexual orientation. This bill would add "military and veteran status," as defined, to the list of categories protected from employment discrimination under the act. The bill would also provide an exemption for an inquiry by an employer regarding military or veteran status for the purpose of awarding a veteran's preference as permitted by law. (2) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 12940 of the Government Code made by SB 292 that would become operative if both bills are chaptered on or before January 1, 2014, and this bill is chaptered last.