Employment discrimination.

Existing law, the California 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, mental condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status. This bill would provide that, under FEHA, it is not a violation of the rights of any individual who is not chosen for an employer to hire or promote a member of a protected group, if the employer determines that the individual hired or promoted is qualified for the job and the individual hired or promoted is a member of a protected group that is underrepresented in the type of job in question in the relevant general workforce. Under the bill, the violation exemption would not apply if the individual hired or promoted is a member of a protected group that, prior to the selection of the individual, was overrepresented in the type of job in the employer's workforce or an individual challenging the hire or promotion decision is a member of a protected group that is underrepresented in the type of job in the relevant general workforce and there is substantial evidence that the individual's protected status was a substantial factor in the hire or promotion decision. The bill would define terms for its purpose.