A bill pending in California would clarify existing law by defining ancestry to include caste as protected within the state's antidiscrimination statutes. On July 5, the California Senate voted 34-1 in favor of the bill.
When this bill, Senate Bill 403, was originally proposed, it added caste as a new category of protected characteristics under the state's antidiscrimination law. On July 10, this bill was significantly amended to strike caste as its own category and instead list it as part of the definition of ancestry, and to state that this is simply declarative of existing state law. The definition would be included in the Unruh Civil Rights Act, the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), and provisions of the Education Code.
The bill is before the Assembly Appropriations Committee and will be evaluated once the legislature comes back from summer recess in mid-August.
As defined in this bill, caste is an individual's perceived position in a system of social stratification on the basis of inherited status.
Although the bill's immediate impact would be limited to employment practices within California, employers outside the state would be wise to take note of these shifting sands. California's example could lead other jurisdictions to create their own laws banning caste discrimination.
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