Discrimination: employee complaint: standard of proof.

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, abridgment, or harassment 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, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status. Under the act, proof of the intent to discriminate in housing may be established using either direct or circumstantial evidence. This bill would provide that an intentional violation of the act regarding employment occurs when a person intends to discriminate using any of the protected characteristics of any person as a motivating factor in the employment action or decision even though other factors may have also motivated the action or decision, as proven by direct or circumstantial evidence. The act requires an employer, as defined, to maintain personnel records and files of employees, applicants, and terminated employees for at least 2 years, with specified exemptions. This bill would also require an employer to maintain records of employee complaints, as defined, for at least 5 years, as specified.