Department of Fair Employment and Housing
Encyclopedia
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is the state agency charged with the protection of residents from employment, housing and public accommodation discrimination, and hate violence. It is the largest civil rights
agency in the United States
. It also provides representation to the victims of hate crime
s. Originally a division within the Department of Industrial Relations, DFEH became a separate department in 1980. DFEH has a director who is appointed by the governor of California
and maintains a total of fifteen offices throughout the state. Today, it is considered part of the California State and Consumer Services Agency
.
The current director of the DFEH is Phyllis W. Cheng, appointed by California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
in January 2008.
(EEOC). DFEH primarily enforces four laws:
Several protections afforded under these laws, such as sexual orientation
and transgender
status, were not expressly included in the original document but have been determined as a matter of case law
.
In 1980, DFEH was established as an independent department charged with enforcing California's comprehensive employment, housing, public accommodations and public service non-discrimination laws, as well as the State's bias
-related hate violence law.
DFEH's statutory mandate is to protect the people of California from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations pursuant to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act
, Government Code section 12900, et seq., the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code
section 51, et seq., and the Ralph Civil Rights Act, Civil Code section 51.7.
DFEH has jurisdiction over both private and public entities operating within the State of California, including corporate entities, private sector
contracts granted by the State of California, and all State departments and local governments.
DFEH receives and investigates discrimination
complaints in its thirteen district offices throughout the State. Ten offices handle employment, public accommodations and hate violence cases and four offices handle housing cases. In addition, there are four legal offices which litigate cases and provide legal support to the district offices.
DFEH routinely provides technical assistance to employers, business establishments and housing providers regarding their responsibilities under the law.
. Once the DFEH accepts a case, it conducts a neutral investigation and attempts to reach a compromise through avenues such as mediation. In the event that no reasonable compromise can be reached, the DFEH provides free legal representation to the victim.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
agency in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It also provides representation to the victims of hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
s. Originally a division within the Department of Industrial Relations, DFEH became a separate department in 1980. DFEH has a director who is appointed by the governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
and maintains a total of fifteen offices throughout the state. Today, it is considered part of the California State and Consumer Services Agency
California State and Consumer Services Agency
The California State and Consumer Services Agency is a state cabinet-level agency of the executive branch of the U.S. state of California. The current secretary of the SCSA is former Assembly Member Anna Caballero. Caballero, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown, replaced Governor Arnold...
.
The current director of the DFEH is Phyllis W. Cheng, appointed by California Governor
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
in January 2008.
Authority
The DFEH has jurisdiction within the State of California under state laws, and it is regulated by the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC). Complaints pertaining to federal laws are handled by the Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionEqual Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is an independent federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, perceived intelligence,...
(EEOC). DFEH primarily enforces four laws:
- California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA): Established the Department; enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination legislation
- California Family Rights Act (CFRA): Ensures leave rights for employees
- Ralph Civil Rights Act: Prohibits violence or threats of violence based on race, religionReligionReligion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, etc. - Unruh Civil Rights Act: Forbids discrimination in housing and public accommodation
Several protections afforded under these laws, such as sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
status, were not expressly included in the original document but have been determined as a matter of case law
Case law
In law, case law is the set of reported judicial decisions of selected appellate courts and other courts of first instance which make new interpretations of the law and, therefore, can be cited as precedents in a process known as stare decisis...
.
Overview
DFEH was established by the Legislature of California in 1959 as the Division of Fair Employment Practices and was initially part of the Department of Industrial Relations.In 1980, DFEH was established as an independent department charged with enforcing California's comprehensive employment, housing, public accommodations and public service non-discrimination laws, as well as the State's bias
Bias
Bias is an inclination to present or hold a partial perspective at the expense of alternatives. Bias can come in many forms.-In judgement and decision making:...
-related hate violence law.
DFEH's statutory mandate is to protect the people of California from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations pursuant to the California Fair Employment and Housing Act
California Fair Employment and Housing Act
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act , codified as Government Code §§12900 - 12996, is a powerful California statute used to fight sexual harassment and other forms of unlawful discrimination in employment and housing.-Scope:...
, Government Code section 12900, et seq., the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Civil Code
Civil code
A civil code is a systematic collection of laws designed to comprehensively deal with the core areas of private law. A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure...
section 51, et seq., and the Ralph Civil Rights Act, Civil Code section 51.7.
DFEH has jurisdiction over both private and public entities operating within the State of California, including corporate entities, private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
contracts granted by the State of California, and all State departments and local governments.
DFEH receives and investigates discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
complaints in its thirteen district offices throughout the State. Ten offices handle employment, public accommodations and hate violence cases and four offices handle housing cases. In addition, there are four legal offices which litigate cases and provide legal support to the district offices.
DFEH routinely provides technical assistance to employers, business establishments and housing providers regarding their responsibilities under the law.
Complaint process
Filing a complaint with the DFEH is free, but all victims must do so within one year of the events in question. Each complaint is reviewed to determine whether there is sufficient evidence and to determine state or federal jurisdiction. Some forms of discrimination are difficult to prove, particularly employment discriminationEmployment discrimination
Employment discrimination is discrimination in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, and compensation. It includes various types of harassment....
. Once the DFEH accepts a case, it conducts a neutral investigation and attempts to reach a compromise through avenues such as mediation. In the event that no reasonable compromise can be reached, the DFEH provides free legal representation to the victim.
External links
- Welcome to California DFEH Homepage
- Text of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (PDFPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
) - Text of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act - Government Code §§12900 - 12996 (Navigable HTML Web page)