Harassment - Gender, Sex & Pregnancy

The FEHA is the principal California statute prohibiting employment discrimination covering employers, labor organizations, employment agencies, apprenticeship programs and any person or entity who aids, abets, incites, compels, or coerces the doing of a discriminatory act. It prohibits employment discrimination based on race or color; religion; national origin or ancestry, physical disability; mental disability or medical condition; marital status; sex or sexual orientation; age, with respect to persons over the age of 40; and pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The FEHA also prohibits retaliation against for opposing any practice forbidden by the Act or for filing a complaint, testifying, or assisting in proceedings under the FEHA.
Unlimited compensatory and punitive damages.
Plaintiff does not have to win a unanimous jury verdict.

Sections Seven and Eight of the California Constitution primarily apply to public employment discrimination or other employment where State or Federal action is shown. Their protective effect is not so limited, See Rojo v. Klinger, 52 Cal.3d 65, 276 Cal. Rptr. 130, 801 P.2d 373.

Government Code §§11135 et seq. prohibit unlawfully denied benefits or discriminating based on ethnic group identification, religion, age, sex, color, or physical or mental disability by employers that undertake programs or activities that are funded directly by the state, and employers that receive any financial assistance from the state.

The California Equal Pay Law, Labor Code section 1197.5, prohibits discrimination against employees on the basis of sex in the payment of wages. Therefore, male and female employees in the same classification who perform substantially the same quantity and quality of work are entitled to equal pay, unless pay differentials are based on bona fide factors other than sex, such as seniority or merit. An employer who denies a person the equal pay guaranteed by this law is liable to the affected employee for any difference in wages due the employee, plus interest. The employer is also liable for damages in an amount equal to the total amount of lost wages.