 Resources
and Links
GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES
Department
of Fair Employment and Housing
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
fifteen district offices throughout the State.
United
States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces the following
laws: Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits
employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;
the Equal
Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), which protects men and women who perform
substantially equal work in the same establishment from sex-based wage discrimination;
the Age
Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which protects
individuals who are 40 years of age or older; Title
I and Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA),
which prohibit employment discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities
in the private sector, and in state and local governments; Sections
501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibit
discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities who work in the
federal government; and the Civil
Rights Act of 1991, which, among other things, provides monetary
damages in cases of intentional employment discrimination.
United
States Commission on Civil Rights
The mission
of the United States Commission on Civil Rights is to investigate
complaints alleging that citizens are being deprived of their right
to vote by reason of their race, color, religion, sex, age, disability,
or national origin, or by reason of fraudulent practices; to study
and collect information relating to discrimination or a denial
of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution because
of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin,
or in the administration of justice; appraise federal laws and
policies with respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection
of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability,
or national origin, or in the administration of justice; serve
as a national clearinghouse for information in respect to discrimination
or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color,
religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin; submit reports,
findings, and recommendations to the President and Congress; and
to issue public service announcements to discourage discrimination
or denial of equal protection of the laws.
United
States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
The Division is the program institution within the federal government responsible
for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race,
sex, handicap, religion, and national origin.
The Division enforces the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964,
and 1968; the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended through 1992;
the Equal Credit Opportunity Act; the Americans with Disabilities
Act; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas
Citizens Absentee Voting Act; the Voting Accessibility for the
Elderly and Handicapped Act; and additional civil rights provisions
contained in other laws and regulations. These laws prohibit discrimination
in education, employment, credit, housing, public accommodations
and facilities, voting, and certain federally funded and conducted
programs. The Division enforces the Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act of 1980, which authorizes the Attorney General to seek
relief for persons confined in public institutions where conditions
exist that deprive residents of their constitutional rights; the
Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, the Police Misconduct
Provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act
of 1994; and Section 102 of the Immigration Reform and Control
Act of 1986 (IRCA), as amended, which prohibits discrimination
on the basis of national origin and citizenship status as well
as document abuse and retaliation under the Immigration and Nationality
Act. In addition, the Division prosecutes actions under several
criminal civil rights statutes which were designed to preserve
personal liberties and safety. The Division is responsible
for coordinating the civil rights enforcement efforts of federal
agencies whose programs are covered by Title VI of the Civil Rights
Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and
assists federal agencies in identifying and removing discriminatory
provision in their policies and programs.
United
States Department of Labor
The Department of Labor administers and enforces more than 180 federal laws.
These mandates and the regulations that implement them cover many workplace activities
for about 10 million employers and 125 million workers.
ORGANIZATIONS / ASSOCIATIONS
Workplace
Fairness
Workplace Fairness is a non-profit organization that provides information, education
and assistance to individual workers and their advocates nationwide and promotes
public policies that advance employee rights.
California
Employment Lawyers Association
The California Employment Lawyers Association is a statewide organization of
attorneys representing employees in termination, discrimination and other employment
cases. CELA helps its members protect and expand the legal rights of working
women and men through litigation, education and advocacy.
National
Employment Lawyers Association
The National Employment Lawyers Association provides assistance and support to
lawyers in protecting the rights of employees against the greater resources of
their employers and the defense bar.
American
Civil Liberties Union of Southern California
The mission of the ACLU is to preserve all of following protections and guarantees:
First Amendment – the rights of free speech, free association, and assembly,
freedom of the press and religious freedom, including the strict separation of
church and state; Equal Protection – The right not to be discriminated
against on the basis of certain classifications, such as race, sex, religion,
national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, etc.; Due Process– the
right to be treated fairly, including fair procedures when facing accusations
of criminal conduct or other serious accusations that can lead to results like
loss of employment, exclusion from school, denial of housing, cut-off of certain
benefits or various punitive measures taken by the government; Privacy – the
right to a zone of personal privacy and autonomy; Groups and Individuals That
Continue to Struggle For Civil Liberties – The extension of all the rights
described above to those who are still fighting for the full protections of the
Bill of Rights, including women, immigrants, the poor, people of color, transgender
people, members of minority religions, people with disabilities, lesbian, gay,
or bisexual people, the homeless, prisoners, and children in the custody of the
state. The ACLU accomplishes the above by lobbying, public education, and
litigation.
National
Lawyers Guild
The National Lawyers Guild is an association dedicated to the need for basic
change in the structure of our political and economic system. NLG seeks to unite
the lawyers, law students, legal workers and jailhouse lawyers of America in
an organization that shall function as an effective political and social force
in the service of the people, to the end that human rights shall be regarded
as more sacred than property interests.
California
State Bar - Labor and Employment Section
The Section furthers knowledge of its members in labor law and employment issues
and provides a forum for California's labor lawyers and non-lawyers with an interest
in labor relations and employment issues.
LEGAL RESOURCES
California
Law
Index of California laws.
FindLaw
Free searchable database of published court decisions.
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