Harassment and discrimination investigations in California should be conducted by the employer whenever the alleged victim contends that the wrongful conduct was motivated (at least in part) by the alleged victim being a member of any of the following classes:

Age (40 and over);

Ancestry;

Color;

Religious Creed;

Denial of Family and Medical Care Leave;

On October 9, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 887, which prohibits discrimination based on “a person’s gender-related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.”  The law will take effect on January 1, 2012.

Current California laws already protect employees from discrimination based on