Gender discrimination: pricing.

Existing law, the Gender Tax Repeal Act of 1995, prohibits a business establishment from discriminating against a person because of the person's gender with respect to the price charged for services of similar or like kind and specifies that this prohibition does not apply to price differences based specifically upon the amount of time, difficulty, or cost of providing the services. This bill would also prohibit a business establishment from discriminating against a person because of a person's gender with respect to the price charged for goods of a substantially similar or like kind, except for food, as defined, or goods sold by a new motor vehicle dealer, as defined. The bill would specify that these exceptions shall not bar or otherwise impact a claim brought under the Unruh Civil Rights Act. The bill would specify that a price difference based specifically on labor, materials, tariffs, or other gender-neutral reasons for having an increased cost of providing the goods is not included within this prohibition. The bill would also specify that a retail establishment is not prohibited from passing through a price to the consumer that is set by a manufacturer, distributor, or other entity that the retailer cannot control.