The protected characteristics in California anti-discrimination law number more than 20, spanning employment, housing, and businesses open to the public. The two main statutes are the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which governs workplaces and housing, and the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which governs public accommodations. In several areas the state’s list is longer, its definitions broader, and its coverage reaches smaller employers than federal law does.
Protected Traits at Work
FEHA prohibits any employer with five or more employees from discriminating in hiring, firing, pay, promotions, or working conditions based on the following characteristics:
- Race and color, including traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and protective hairstyles like braids, locs, twists, and Bantu knots (the CROWN Act, signed in 2019)
- National origin and ancestry, including language use and possession of a driver’s license issued to undocumented immigrants
- Religious creed, including religious dress and grooming practices
- Physical disability
- Mental disability
- Medical condition
- Genetic information
- Sex and gender, including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions
- Gender identity
- Gender expression
- Sexual orientation
- Age, for workers 40 and older
- Marital status
- Reproductive health decisionmaking
- Military or veteran status
The full statutory list, including reproductive health decisionmaking, sits in Government Code Section 12940.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12940 Retaliation against anyone who reports discrimination or helps someone else do so is separately unlawful.2California Civil Rights Department. Employment
Harassment Reaches Even Smaller Employers
The five-employee threshold applies to discrimination claims. For harassment, FEHA defines “employer” as anyone who regularly employs at least one person, so a worker at a two-person company is still protected against harassment based on any of the traits above.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12940 Employers can also be held responsible for harassment by non-employees, such as clients or vendors, when management knew or should have known and failed to act.
Protected Traits in Housing
Government Code Section 12955 prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, lease, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, ancestry, familial status, source of income, disability, veteran or military status, and genetic information.3California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955 Protection also extends to people the landlord perceives as having a protected characteristic and to those who associate with someone who does.
Two of the housing categories catch people off guard, so they deserve a closer look.
Familial Status
Familial status covers households with children under 18, anyone who is pregnant, and anyone in the process of securing legal custody of a child. A landlord cannot refuse to rent to you, charge you more, or steer you toward specific units because you have children.
Source of Income
California defines “source of income” broadly to include any lawful, verifiable income paid to or on behalf of a tenant. That explicitly includes federal, state, and local housing subsidies, including Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers and HUD-VASH vouchers for veterans. A landlord who accepts applications from market-rate tenants cannot reject you solely because your rent is paid through a voucher.3California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12955
Protected Traits at Businesses Open to the Public
The Unruh Civil Rights Act, at Civil Code Section 51, covers every business open to the public: retail stores, restaurants, hospitals, theaters, and online services. It guarantees equal access regardless of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status.4California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 51
California courts have held that the list is not exhaustive. Arbitrary discrimination by a business can violate the Act when the characteristic is similar to those named and the business has no legitimate justification. Courts have used that reasoning to reach traits not written into the statute, including age.5Justia. CACI No. 3060 – Unruh Civil Rights Act – Essential Factual Elements
A business that violates the Unruh Act is liable for actual damages up to three times the amount, with a minimum of $4,000 per violation, plus attorney’s fees. The $4,000 floor applies even when there is no provable out-of-pocket loss.6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 52
Definitions That Change What the Words Mean
Several of these labels have technical meanings under California law that don’t match everyday usage. If you’re checking whether you’re covered, the definition is what matters.
Disability
FEHA protects a condition that makes a major life activity “difficult.” The federal Americans with Disabilities Act requires that the condition “substantially limit” a major life activity. A condition that falls short under federal law can still qualify under state law. FEHA also requires that a disability be evaluated without considering medication, prosthetics, or other treatments, so a condition controlled by medication still counts.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12926
Medical Condition
“Medical condition” is narrower than it sounds. Under FEHA it covers two things: any health impairment related to or associated with a cancer diagnosis, including a history of cancer, and certain genetic characteristics that indicate an increased risk of disease even when the person has no current symptoms.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12926 Someone in remission is protected. So is someone who carries a gene linked to a hereditary disease but has never been sick. Ordinary health issues outside those two categories fall under “disability” instead, if they qualify at all.
Genetic Information
This category covers your own genetic test results, the genetic tests of family members, and any known disease patterns in your family. It also covers the act of requesting or receiving genetic services or taking part in clinical genetic research.7California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12926
Gender Identity and Gender Expression
California treats these as separate protected characteristics. Gender expression covers appearance and behavior related to gender, whether or not those traits match expectations for the sex assigned at birth. The protection reaches transgender, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming people, and it applies equally in employment, housing, and public accommodations.8California Legislative Information. California Government Code 12926
Race Under the CROWN Act
California was the first state to expand the definition of race under FEHA to include traits associated with race. Employers cannot ban or penalize natural hair textures or protective hairstyles such as braids, locs, twists, or Bantu knots. Grooming standards for legitimate safety or hygiene reasons remain allowed; blanket bans on natural hairstyles do not.9California Governor’s Office. Governor Newsom Signs Legislation to Protect Employees from Racial Discrimination Based on Hairstyle
Where California Reaches Further Than Federal Law
Federal statutes like Title VII and the ADA set a floor. California’s law goes above it in ways that matter to real cases.
- More traits on the list. Federal employment law does not protect marital status, gender expression as a standalone category, source of income, or reproductive health decisionmaking. California does.
- Broader disability coverage. “Difficult” versus “substantially limits,” and mitigating measures are disregarded.
- Smaller employer threshold. Title VII applies at 15 or more employees. FEHA applies at five for discrimination and one for harassment.
- No damage caps. Federal law caps combined compensatory and punitive damages by employer size, topping out at $300,000. FEHA has no cap.
- Longer filing window. An employment complaint with the California Civil Rights Department must be filed within three years of the last harmful act. For housing and public accommodations, the deadline is one year.10California Legislative Information. California Government Code 1296011California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process
If You Believe You’ve Been Discriminated Against
The Civil Rights Department (CRD), formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing, enforces FEHA and takes complaints for employment, housing, and public accommodations. You can start an intake online, by mail, or by phone. Employment cases require a right-to-sue notice from the CRD before you file in court; Unruh Act cases at businesses open to the public do not.11California Civil Rights Department. Complaint Process Watch the filing deadlines above; missing them usually ends the claim.