Wednesday, October 14, 2026

California Requires Employers to Provide Anti-Hate Speech Training to Employees

On September 27, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed A.B. 1803 (full text) which amends Cal. Gov. Code §12950.1 to require that beginning January 1, 2028, employers must provide anti-hate speech training to employees every two years. The training must provide supervisors and employees with "practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, and confronting workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on"  race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, reproductive health decision making, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or veteran or military status. The training requirement applies to any employer having five or more employees. Calif. Gov. Code §12926(d), however, provides that "employer" as used in these civil rights provisions does not include a non-profit religious association of corporation. 

ReligiousLiberty.tv discusses the impact of the new provisions on religious organizations.