Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, § 11009 - Principles of Employment Discrimination

(a) Unlawful Practices and Individual Relief. In allegations of employment discrimination, a finding that an employer or other covered entity has engaged in an unlawful employment practice is not dependent upon a showing of individual back pay or other compensable liability. Upon a finding that an employer or other covered entity has engaged in an unlawful employment practice and on order of appropriate relief, a severable and separate showing may be made that the complainant, complainants or class of complainants is entitled to individual or personal relief including, but not limited to, hiring, reinstatement or upgrading, back pay, restoration to membership in a labor organization, or other relief in furtherance of the purpose of the Act.

(b) Liability of Employers. In view of the common law theory of respondeat superior and its codification in California Civil Code section 2338, an employer or other covered entity shall be liable for the discriminatory actions of its supervisors, managers or agents committed within the scope of their employment or relationship with the covered entity or, as defined in section 11019(b), for the discriminatory actions of its employees where it is demonstrated that, as a result of any such discriminatory action, the applicant or employee has suffered a loss of or has been denied an employment benefit.

(c) Discrimination is established if a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that an enumerated basis was a substantial motivating factor in the denial of an employment benefit to that individual by the employer or other covered entity, and the denial is not justified by a permissible defense. This standard applies only to claims of discrimination on a basis enumerated in Government Code section 12940, subdivision (a), and to claims of retaliation under Government Code section 12940, subdivision (h). This standard does not apply to other practices made unlawful by the Fair Employment and Housing Act, including, but not limited to, harassment, denial of reasonable accommodation, failure to engage in the interactive process, and failure to provide leaves under Government Code sections 12945 and 12945.2. A substantial factor motivating the denial of the employment benefit is a factor that a reasonable person would consider to have contributed to the denial. It must be more than a remote or trivial factor. It does not have to be the only cause of the denial.

(d) An applicant or employee who is a victim of human trafficking, as that term is used in Civil Code section 52.5 and Penal Code section 236.1, may have a separate right of action under the Fair Employment and Housing Act if he or she alleges discrimination on a basis protected by the Act. Nothing in this regulation shall limit any claims an individual may have under other California laws prohibiting human trafficking.

(e) It is unlawful for anyone to discriminate against a person who serves in an unpaid internship or any other limited-duration program to provide unpaid work experience in the selection, termination, training, or other terms and treatment of that person on any basis protected by the Act.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 2, § 11009

Note: Authority cited: Section 12935(a), Government Code. Reference: Sections 12920, 12921, 12940, 12941, 12942 and 12961, Government Code; Harris v. City of Santa Monica (2013) 56 Cal.4th 203.

1. Change without regulatory effect renumbering former section 7286.6 to new section 11009 and amending section and Note filed 10-3-2013 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2013, No. 40).
2. Amendment of section and Note filed 12-9-2015; operative 4/1/2016 (Register 2015, No. 50).