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California civil rights department details settlements and expands outreach, launches ‘Welcome In’ pilot
Summary
At a July 24 meeting, the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) reported thousands of investigations and millions in settlements, and described new outreach efforts including a 'Welcome In' business certification pilot and an expanded program that hunts discriminatory online ads.
The California Civil Rights Department told the state’s Commission on the State of Hate on July 24 that its 2022 annual report documents 4,813 investigations and 656 settlements that yielded more than $12.4 million in direct payments and other relief to complainants.
Deputy Director Watts presented the department’s figures and recent enforcement actions, noting “we recently issued the department’s 2022 annual report” and highlighting high-profile settlements, including a reported $4,100,000 settlement with Microsoft and a $15,000,000 settlement with Snap related to alleged discrimination and retaliation allegations.
Why it matters: the figures underscore CRD’s enforcement activity and feed into the commission’s broader work tracking hate and discrimination across California. Commissioners used the update to press staff for more data and links they could share with the public.
Assistant Deputy Director of Outreach and Education Rashida Harmon outlined new public-facing products and programs that CRD plans to roll out in 2024 and 2025. Harmon said the department is updating fact sheets on harassment prevention for employers, producing a fact sheet on discrimination at public businesses, and issuing guidance on reasonable housing modifications. She also described a new business certification pilot called "Welcome In," which offers training, sample policy language and signage so participating businesses can signal to patrons that they are inclusive.
Harmon described CRD’s discriminatory-notices project, in which staff screen online marketplaces for postings that contain unlawful discriminatory language. "In the last quarter alone, we have increased the amount of ads that we're reviewing by 405%," Harmon said, adding that the unit has been sending many more compliance letters and receiving more signed responses from employers and housing providers.
Commissioners asked how the department will evaluate the Welcome In pilot, how it will treat after-hours or online harassment, and when resource links will be posted. Harmon said evaluation plans are in development with the department’s strategic initiatives team and that the new resources and legal guidance (including text related to the Unruh Act) should be posted within weeks.
Public commenters asked CRD for disability-specific data and for links to the annual report and California versus Hate data. Watts said the annual report and the California versus Hate release would be posted and that staff would share the links with commissioners.
What happens next: CRD staff said they will circulate links to the reports and materials once they are live and continue refining the Welcome In pilot before its planned early-2025 launch.
