DFEH Issues Sample Equal Employment Opportunity Policy For California Employers

Sacramento – The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced today the release of a sample Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) policy to assist employers in meeting their legal obligation to develop harassment, discrimination, and retaliation prevention policies.

California law requires employers to develop and distribute to employees a written policy about the prevention of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace. The mandatory components of every workplace EEO policy are listed in the California Code of Regulations at 2 CCR § 11023 and include a description of legal categories, a complaint process, instructions for supervisors, and identification of DFEH and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as additional avenues for employees to lodge complaints.

The sample policy is intended to assist employers in meeting legal requirements while developing their own workplace-specific policies. The document also contains a sample complaint form that employers can revise and adopt for internal use.

“While the law requires employers to develop a detailed EEO policy, hundreds of thousands of California employers do not have easy access to legal counsel,” said DFEH Director Kevin Kish. “That should not be a barrier to the development and use of a clear anti-discrimination policy in every workplace, and DFEH is pleased to provide this resource to help employers develop and implement effective policies.”

The sample EEO policy is available in pdf and Word form on DFEH’s employment resources page at https://www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/resources/posters-and-brochures-and-fact-sheets/poster-andbrochure-tab-list/?target=employment. It can be viewed directly in pdf form at https://www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/07/SampleEEOPolicy.pdf.

The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) is the state agency charged with enforcing California’s civil rights laws. CRD’s mission is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and state-funded programs and activities, and from hate violence and human trafficking. For more information, visit calcivilrights.ca.gov.

View (PDF) DFEH Issues Sample Equal Employment Opportunity Policy For California Employers