California recently passed Senate Bill 1137, a groundbreaking law that explicitly recognizes "intersectionality" in the state's civil rights laws that went into effect in January of this year. This legislation protects individuals from discrimination based not just on single protected characteristics, but also on combinations of protected characteristics. This expanded protection acknowledges the complex reality many people face in the workplace and other settings.

What is Intersectionality?

Intersectionality is an analytical framework recognizing that different forms of discrimination often operate together and compound each other; for example, how Black women can experience discrimination in ways that are different from both Black men and white women.

As the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals explained in its opinion Lam v. University of Hawai'i:

"[W]here two bases for discrimination exist, they cannot be neatly reduced to distinct components. [Citations] Rather than aiding the decisional process, the attempt to bisect a person's identity at the intersection of race and gender often distorts or ignores the particular nature of their experiences."

What SB 1137 Does

SB 1137 amends several key California anti-discrimination laws, including:

• The Unruh Civil Rights Act (Civil Code Section 51)
• Educational equity provisions in the Education Code
• The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

The law explicitly states that protected characteristics include:

1. Any combination of those characteristics
2. A perception that a person has any combination of those characteristics
3. A perception that a person is associated with someone who has, or is perceived to have, any combination of those characteristics

Practical Impacts

SB 1137 may have several important practical effects:

1. Clearer legal standing: Individuals should have stronger legal grounds to pursue discrimination claims based on multiple characteristics. Defendants should no longer be able argue that they didn't discriminate against any single protected class separately.
2. More complete remedies: Courts can address the full scope of discrimination without artificially separating a person's identity characteristics.
3. Recognition of unique experiences: The law acknowledges that discrimination often targets specific combinations of characteristics that create unique experiences of prejudice.
4. More comprehensive protections: The amendments cover discrimination in employment, education, housing, and public accommodations.

What This Means for Your Rights

If you've experienced discrimination based on multiple aspects of your identity, this law affirms your right to seek redress for the specific harm you've experienced. You don't need to prove discrimination based on each characteristic separately.

SB 1137 represents an important advancement in California's civil rights laws by explicitly recognizing the complex reality of discrimination. By acknowledging intersectionality, the law provides more comprehensive protection for individuals with multiple protected characteristics who face unique forms of discrimination.

If you believe you've experienced discrimination based on multiple aspects of your identity by your employer or a prospective employer, consider contacting an employment lawyer to explore potential remedies.