Discrimination: family responsibilities.

Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, prohibits various forms of employment discrimination and recognizes the opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold employment without specified forms of discrimination as a civil right. The act also makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer, among other things, to refuse to hire or employ a person because of various personal characteristics, conditions, or traits. The act specifies that nothing in the act prohibits employers from taking certain actions. This bill would prohibit employment discrimination on account of family responsibilities, as defined, and would recognize the opportunity to seek, obtain, and hold employment without discrimination because of family responsibilities as a civil right, as specified. The bill would also make it unlawful for an employer or other entity covered by the act to fail to take specified actions when the employer or entity becomes aware of a need for an accommodation due to obligations arising from a need to care for a minor child or care recipient, as defined, because of an unforeseen closure or unforeseen unavailability of a minor child or care recipient's school or care provider, excluding planned holidays. The bill would also make it unlawful for an employer or other entity covered by the act to retaliate or otherwise discriminate against the employee for requesting an accommodation or exercising, or attempting to exercise, these rights.