Compliance Stuff

California lawmakers introduced  Assembly Bill 1940  ( AB 1940 ) in February 2026 to expressly include perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause within the definition of “sex” under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). If enacted, the bill would remove any ambiguity as to whether menopause-related conditions are covered and would put employers on clear notice that discrimination, harassment, or failure to accommodate employees experiencing these conditions may constitute unlawful sex-based discrimination. What AB 1940 Does The bill would make three primary changes to California law. Expands the Definition of “Sex” Under FEHA . AB 1940 would amend Government Code section 12926 to add perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, and related medical conditions to FEHA’s existing definition of “sex,” which currently includes pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Employers with five or more employees would be expressly prohibited from taking adverse actions, inc...

At a Glance Revisions to Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations will govern the use of AI-based tools in California starting October 1, 2025. Among other things, the regulations define the scope of AI-driven (and other) automated decision-making systems (ADS), clarify what constitutes discriminatory use of ADS, require anti-bias testing of ADS, impose new recordkeeping requirements, and discuss affirmative defenses to employer liability. The final regulations are less burdensome than the original draft, but still impose several new compliance requirements for employers. On June 30, 2025, the California Civil Rights Council (“CRC” or “Council”) secured final approval for revisions to Title 2 of the California Code of Regulations, which governs administration of the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). These regulations interpret California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act’s (FEHA) prohibitions against discrimination in recruitment, hiring, promotion, training and terminatio...

  The California Civil Rights Council has been working on proposed regulation revisions to include automated decision-making in the requirements under the Fair Employment and Housing Act. The Council met on October 17, 2024, for public comment on  the most recent version of the regulations  and voted to extend the comment period to 30 days, though typically the period is only 15 days. Here are some of the highlights of the proposed regulations:  Definitions An automated decision system (ADS) is defined as a “computational process that screens, evaluates, categorizes, recommends, or otherwise makes a decision or facilitates human decision-making that impacts applicants or employees.” the definition excludes word processing software, spreadsheet software, and map navigation systems. Adverse impact (or disparate impact) includes the use of a facially neutral practice that may create a substantial disparity in the rate of selection in hiring, promotion, or other employme...