California law recognizes more protected characteristics than most states’ laws do. These include not just the more common ones like race, age, disability, nationality, religion and gender. The law also protects employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity and expression, HIV/AIDS and more.
Starting at the beginning of this year, the law also addresses discrimination based on intersectionality. That essentially means that an employee can claim that they’ve been discriminated against based on their inclusion in more than one category rather than having to name and prove discrimination based on one specific characteristic. California is the first state to address intersectionality discrimination in its laws in this way.
In the past, people who have been victims of workplace discrimination have had to choose one of their protected characteristics to specify in their claim even though the totality of their identity may have been the cause of the discrimination at issue. Having to do that has often made it more challenging for such claims to succeed. This change in the law means that’s no longer required.
The increased harm of discrimination based on multiple characteristics
Here in Southern California, it’s not uncommon for employees to fall into multiple protected categories. Those who have talked about intersectionality for many years contend that people with two or more protected characteristics often face greater prejudice and harm than those discriminated against based on one characteristic or identity. For example, statistics have repeatedly shown that women of color experience more wage discrimination than white women do.
A California lawmaker who has championed this change says that it “enshrines these key principles of intersectionality into law in order to provide guidance to California state courts and ensure that plaintiffs’ full experience of harm is recognized.”
This is a historic and important change in the law, and it’s important that all California employers and employees are aware of it. Of course, not all employers keep up with the changes in the law. That’s one reason why it’s crucial that employees know how to protect and assert their rights – including the right not to face discrimination and harassment in the workplace based on who they are. Getting experienced legal guidance can help Californians succeed why standing up to employers.