BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       


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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 196
          Author:   Leno (D), et al
          Amended:  3/26/03 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  5-2, 6/17/03
          AYES:  Escutia, Cedillo, Ducheny, Kuehl, Sher
          NOES:  Morrow, Ackerman

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  42-34, 4/21/03 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Gender discrimination

           SOURCE  :     California Alliance for Pride and Equality


           DIGEST  :    This bill imports the definition of gender from  
          hate crimes statutes that prohibit violence against any  
          person on the grounds of gender or perceived gender into  
          the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), thereby  
          extending the FEHA prohibition against discrimination to  
          that based on perceptions of an individual's gender,  
          regardless of whether the perceived gender characteristics  
          are different from those traditionally associated with the  
          individual's sex at birth.

          This bill permits employers to require employees to adhere  
          to reasonable workplace appearance and standards consistent  
          with state or federal law, provided that employees are  
          allowed to appear or dress consistently with their gender  
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          identity.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law, FEHA, prohibits employment and  
          housing discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation,  
          as well as race, religion, color, national origin,  
          ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical  
          condition, marital status, or age, as those terms are  
          defined.

          Existing law defines prohibited acts of discrimination to  
          include the firing of or refusal to hire an individual  
          based on the individual's sex, harassing an individual  
          based on their sex, refusing to sell or rent housing to an  
          individual based on their sex, and setting terms of lending  
          for an individual based on their sex.

          Existing law defines "sex" as including, but not limited  
          to, pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to  
          pregnancy or childbirth, and "sexual orientation" as  
          heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality.

          Existing law defines "gender," for purposes of the hate  
          crimes statutes prohibiting violence against another or to  
          interfere with another's exercise of civil rights, as the  
          victim's actual sex or the defendant's perception of the  
          victim's sex, and includes the defendant's perception of  
          the victim's identity, appearance, or behavior, whether or  
          not that identity, appearance or behavior is different from  
          that traditionally associated with the victim's sex at  
          birth.

          This bill provides that for the purposes of FEHA, the term  
          "sex" shall include a person's gender, as that term is  
          defined in Penal Code Section 422.76.

          This bill permits an employer to require an employee to  
          adhere to reasonable workplace appearance, grooming and  
          dress standards not precluded by state or federal law,  
          provided the employee is allowed to appear or dress  
          consistently with the employee's gender identity.

           Prior Legislation

          AB 1649 (Golderg), 2000-01 Session  .  Died on the Senate  







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          Inactive File.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  7/14/03)

          California Alliance for Pride and Equality (source)
          Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante
          AIDS Project East Bay
          AIDS Project Los Angeles
          AIDS Legal Referral Panel
          Alice B. Toklas Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic  
                 Club
          American Civil Liberties Union
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal  
                 Employees, AFL-CIO
          Anti-Defamation League
          Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
          Billy DeFrank Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community  
            Center of Silicon Valley
          Board of Supervisors, City and County of San Francisco
          Bunny Inc.
          California Apartment Association
          California Chapter of the National Association of Social  
                 Workers
          California Church Impact, Public Policy Coordinator
          California Commission on the Status of Women
          California Independent Public Employees Legislative Council
          California Labor Federation
          California Independent Public Employees Legislative Council
          California Professional Firefighters
          California National Organization for Women
          California School Employees Association
          California State Employees Association
          California Teachers Association
          California Women's Law Center
          Catholic War Veterans of the United States, Coachella  
                 Valley Chapter
          Charles Zukow Associates
          Chinese for Affirmative Action
          City of San Francisco
          City of Santa Cruz
          Commission on the Status of Women







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          Donordigital
          East Bay Community Law Center
          Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club
          Elections Committee of the County of Orange
          Equal Rights Advocates
          Eviction Defense Collaborative
          Friends Committee on Legislation
          FTM International
          Gay-Straight Alliance Network
          Golden Gate Business Association
          Greater San Diego Business Association
          Harvey Milk Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Democratic  
          Club
          Housing California
          Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco
          Human Rights Campaign
          Human Rights/Fair Housing Commission of the City and County  
          of Sacramento
          Human Rights Commission of the City and County of San  
          Francisco
          Lambda Legal
          Lambda Letters Project
          L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center
          Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
          Mossinger Consulting
          National Center for Lesbian Rights
          National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
          National Transgender Advocacy Coalition
          New Leaf Services For Our Community
          Northern California Nevada Conference of the United Church  
          of Christ
          Olivia Cruises and Resorts
          Orange County Transgender Taskforce
          SAF-T Corporation
          San Diego TransFamily
          Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee
          San Francisco Tenants Union
          Senior Housing Action Collaborative
          Service Employees International Union 
          Southern California HIV Advocacy Coalition
          Southern California Nevada Conference United Church of  
          Christ
          Spectrum Magazine
          Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento







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          The Center San Diego County
          The Legal Aid Society
          The "Ministry In Action Commission" of St. Mark's United  
          Methodist Church
          Toltec Center of Creative Intent
          Transgender Law Center
          Women's Employment Rights Clinic of Golden Gate University
          Woodenship
          Several individuals

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  7/14/03)

          California Chamber of Commerce
          California Employment Law Council
          California Manufacturers & Technology Association
          Committee on Moral Concerns
          Eagle Forum of California
          Irvine Chamber of Commerce
          Traditional Values Coalition
          Women Volunteer in Politics
          Several individuals

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the sponsor,  
          "[d]iscrimination is wrong and hurts all Californians,  
          especially when it is based on characteristics like gender  
          identity or expression that have nothing to do [with] one's  
          qualifications as an employee or a tenant.  This bill will  
          provide protection to those who are fired, evicted, or  
          harassed every day because they exhibit traits not  
          stereotypically associated with their sex at birth.  Such  
          traits may include a person's personality, clothing,  
          hairstyle, speech, mannerisms, or demeanor; they may also  
          include a person's characteristics such as vocal pitch,  
          facial hair, or the size and shape of a person's body.   
          This will protect men who are seen as "too feminine" and  
          women perceived as "too masculine."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The Chamber of Commerce, for  
          example, contends that importing the definition of gender  
          from the Penal Code into the workplace "would make almost  
          any comment, look, or action between workers a potential  
          prohibited act protected under FEHA.  This bill would be  
          especially onerous for employers because regulating the  
          workplace is significantly different than the hate crime  







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          situations under which this definition was developed."   
          They cite the fact that the workplace is already highly  
          regulated and employee protection from physical violence is  
          already covered under the Labor Code.  Further, they state,  
          the elements of evidence necessary to successfully  
          prosecute under the Penal Code is significantly more  
          stringent than FEHA.

          Lastly, the Traditional Values Coalition contends that  
          "transgendered school teachers and employees could have a  
          detrimental effect on a student's natural gender identity.   
          This bill seeks to challenge the norms of society through  
          the force of law."

          According to the Campaign for California Families, the bill  
          "?clearly states that 'an employer shall allow an employee  
          to appear or dress consistently with the employee's gender  
          identity.'  This means crushing a business's standards of  
          decency and allowing male employees to wear women's clothes  
          and wigs in front of customers and children - at a Bible  
          bookstore, a Boy Scout office, a childcare center, a  
          restaurant, a hotel, an elementary school classroom, etc."  
           

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Berg, Bermudez, Calderon, Canciamilla, Chan, Chavez,  
            Chu, Cohn, Corbett, Diaz, Dutra, Dymally, Firebaugh,  
            Frommer, Goldberg, Hancock, Jackson, Kehoe, Koretz,  
            Laird, Leno, Levine, Lieber, Liu, Longville, Lowenthal,  
            Montanez, Mullin, Nation, Negrete McLeod, Nunez, Oropeza,  
            Pavley, Ridley-Thomas, Salinas, Simitian, Steinberg,  
            Vargas, Wiggins, Wolk, Yee, Wesson
          NOES:  Aghazarian, Bates, Benoit, Bogh, Campbell, Cogdill,  
            Correa, Cox, Daucher, Dutton, Harman, Haynes, Shirley  
            Horton, Houston, Keene, La Malfa, La Suer, Leslie,  
            Maddox, Maldonado, Maze, McCarthy, Mountjoy, Nakanishi,  
            Pacheco, Parra, Plescia, Reyes, Richman, Runner,  
            Samuelian, Spitzer, Strickland, Wyland


          RJG:cm  7/16/03   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE








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