BILL NUMBER: SB 242ENROLLED BILL TEXT PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 2, 2009 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 14, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Senator Yee FEBRUARY 24, 2009 An act to add Section 51.15 to the Civil Code, relating to civil rights. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 242, Yee. Civil rights: language restrictions. The Unruh Civil Rights Act generally prohibits business establishments from discriminating on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, or medical condition. The act provides civil remedies for violations of its provisions. Under the California Fair Employment Housing Act, it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to adopt or enforce a policy that prohibits the use of any language in the workplace, except if that policy is justified by business necessity, as defined, and prescribed notice of the policy and consequences for violation of the policy is given to employees. This bill would make it a violation of the Unruh Civil Rights Act to adopt or enforce a policy that requires, limits, or prohibits the use of any language in or with a business establishment, unless the policy is justified by a business necessity, as defined, and notification has been provided of the circumstances and the time when the language restriction or requirement is to be observed and of the consequences for its violation. The bill would define business necessity to require, among other things, that the language restriction or requirement is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the business and that an equally effective, but less discriminatory, alternative practice does not exist. The bill would provide for an award of damages, and attorney's fees as may be determined by the court, for a violation of its provisions. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 51.15 is added to the Civil Code, to read: 51.15. (a) It is a violation of Section 51 to adopt or enforce a policy that requires, limits, or prohibits the use of any language in or with a business establishment, unless both of the following conditions exist: (1) The language restriction or requirement is justified by a business necessity. For purposes of this section, "business necessity" means an overriding legitimate business purpose for which all of the following are true: (A) The language restriction or requirement is necessary for the safe and efficient operation of the business. (B) The language restriction or requirement effectively fulfills the business purpose it is supposed to serve. (C) An alternative practice to the language restriction or requirement that would accomplish the business purpose equally well with a lesser discriminatory impact does not exist. (2) Notification has been provided of the circumstances and the time when the language restriction or requirement is required to be observed and of the consequences for its violation. (b) In an action pursuant to this section, remedies shall be awarded as provided in subdivision (a) of Section 52. (c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to impose a duty on any business establishment to provide customer service in a particular language unless that duty is otherwise required by law. (d) The prohibitions and defenses under this section are in addition to any other prohibitions and defenses under any other section or other law, and the rights and remedies provided by this section may be enforced independently of any other rights or remedies. (e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, limit, or negate application of any other remedies or rights provided under Section 51 or any other law. (f) This section does not apply to policies or rules regarding the employment relationship between a business establishment and its employees.