California Workplace Discrimination and Harassment Poster Mandatory

CALIFORNIA LAW PROHIBITS WORKPLACE 	
DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT
The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) enforces laws 
that protect you from illegal discrimination and harassment 
in employment based on your actual or perceived:
•	 	 ANCESTRY	
•	 	AGE 	(40 and above)	
•	 	COLOR	
•	 	DISABILITY 	(physical, developmental, mental health/psychiatric, 
HIV and AIDS)	
•	 	GENETIC INFORMATION	
•	 	GENDER EXPRESSION	
•	 	GENDER IDENTITY	
•	 	MARITAL STATUS	
•	 	MEDICAL CONDITION	 (genetic characteristics, cancer, or a 
record or history of cancer)	
•	 	MILITARY OR VETERAN STATUS	
•	 	NATIONAL ORIGIN 	(includes language restrictions and 
possession of a driver’s license issued to undocumented 
immigrants)	
•	 	RACE 	(includes hair texture and hairstyles)	
•	 	 RELIGION 	(includes religious dress and grooming practices)	
•	 	REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH DECISIONMAKING 	
•	 	 SEX/GENDER	 (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding  
and/or related medical conditions)	
•	 	SEXUAL ORIENTATION

CALIFORNIA LAW 
PROHIBITS WORKPLACE 
DISCRIMINATION & HARASSMENT	
THE CALIFORNIA FAIR EMPLOYMENT 
AND HOUSING ACT AND ITS 
IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS 
PROTECT CIVIL RIGHTS AT WORK.	
HARASSMENT
1.	 The law prohibits harassment of employees, applicants, unpaid 
interns, volunteers, and independent contractors by any 
person. This includes a prohibition against harassment based 
on any characteristic listed above, such as sexual harassment, 
gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, 
childbirth, breastfeeding, and/or related medical conditions.	
2.	 All employers are required to take reasonable steps to prevent 
all forms of harassment, as well as provide information to each 
of their employees on the nature, illegality, and legal remedies 
that apply to sexual harassment.	
3.	 Employers with 5 or more employees and public employers 
must train their employees regarding the prevention of sexual 
harassment, including harassment based on gender identity, 
gender expression, and sexual orientation.	
DISCRIMINATION/REASONABLE 
ACCOMODATIONS
1.	 California law prohibits employers with 5 or more employees 
and public employers from discriminating based on any 
protected characteristic listed above when making decisions 
about hiring, promotion, pay, benefits, terms of employment, 
layoffs, and other aspects of employment.	
2.	 Employers cannot limit or prohibit the use of any language 
in any workplace unless justified by business necessity. The 
employer must notify employees of the language restriction 
and consequences for violation.	
3.	 Employers cannot discriminate against an applicant or 
employee because they possess a California driver’s license or 
ID issued to an undocumented person.	
4. 	Employers must reasonably accommodate the religious beliefs 
and practices of an employ
ee, unpaid intern, or job applicant, 
including the wearing or carrying of religious clothing, jewelry 
or artifacts, and hair styles, facial hair, or body hair, which are 
part of an individual’s observance of their religious beliefs.	
5.	 Employers must reasonably accommodate an employee or 
job applicant with a disability to enable them to perform the essential functions of a job.	
ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS
1.	 The law provides specific protections and hiring procedures for 
people with criminal histories who are looking for employment.	
2.	 Employers with 5 or more employees and public employers 
must provide up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave to eligible 
employees: to care for themselves, a family member (child 
of any age, spouse, domestic partner, parent, parent-in- law, 
grandparent, grandchild, sibling) or a designated person (with 
a blood or family-like relationship to employee); to bond with a 
new child; or for certain military exigencies.	
3.	 Employers must provide job-protected leave of up to 4 
months to employees disabled because of pregnancy,  childbirth, or a related medical condition, as well as require 
employers to reasonably accommodate an employee, on 
the advice of their health care provider, related to their 
pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.	
4.	 Employers, employment agencies, and unions must 
preserve applications, personnel records, and employment 
referral records for a minimum of four years.	
5.	 Employment agencies must serve all applicants equally, 
refuse discriminatory job orders, and prohibit employers 
and employment agencies from making discriminatory pre-
hiring inquiries or publishing help-wanted advertisements 
that express a discriminatory hiring preference.	
6.	 Unions cannot discriminate in member admissions or 
dispatching members to jobs.	
7. The law prohibits retaliation against a person who opposes, 
reports, or assists another person to oppose unlawful 
discrimination, including filing an internal complaint or a 
complaint with CRD.	
REMEDIES/FILING A COMPLAINT
1.	 The law provides remedies for individuals who experience 
prohibited discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in 
the workplace. These remedies can include hiring, front 
pay, back pay, promotion, reinstatement, cease-and-desist 
orders, expert witness fees, reasonable attorney’s fees and 
costs, punitive damages, and emotional distress damages.	
2.	 If you believe you have experienced discrimination, 
harassment, or retaliation, you may file a complaint with 
CRD. Independent contractors and volunteers: If you believe 
you have been harassed, you may file a complaint with CRD.	
3.	 Complaints must be filed within three years of the last act of 
discrimination/harassment/retaliation. For those who are 
under the age of eighteen, complaints must be filed within 
three years after the last act of discrimination/harassment/
retaliation or one year after their eighteenth birthday, 
whichever is later.	
If you have been subjected to discrimination, 
harassment, or retaliation at work, file a complaint  with the Civil Rights Department (CRD).
TO FILE A COMPLAINT
Civil Rights Department
calcivilrights.ca.gov/complaintprocess 
Toll Free: 800.884.1684  /  TTY: 800.700.2320
California Relay Service (711)
Have a disability that requires a reasonable accommodation? 
CRD can assist you with your complaint.
The Fair Employment and Housing Act is codified at Government Code sections 12900 
- 12999. The regulations implementing the Act are at Code of Regulations, title 2, 
division 4.1
Government Code section 12950 and California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 
11023, require all employers to post this document. It must be conspicuously posted 
in hiring offices, on employee bulletin boards, in employment agency waiting rooms, 
union halls, and other places employees gather. Any employer whose workforce at any 
facility or establishment consists of more than 10% of non-English speaking persons 
must also post this notice in the appropriate language or languages.	
For translations of this guidance, visit: 	www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/posters/required	CRD-E07P-ENG  / January 2023