Civil Rights Department Launches New Monthly Civil Rights 101 Webinar Series

SACRAMENTO – The California Civil Rights Department (CRD) today announced the launch of a new monthly “Civil Rights 101” webinar series to support increased awareness statewide of fundamental civil rights protections. Focusing on addressing discrimination in housing and employment, the series will also seek to remind employers, housing providers, and others of their responsibilities under California’s civil rights laws. The webinar series is free and open to the public.

“A critical component of tackling discrimination is ensuring the public knows about their rights under the law,” said CRD Acting Director Mary Wheat. “The California Civil Rights Department is proud to launch a new free webinar series aimed at covering the basics of civil rights law in California. Together, armed with the knowledge of your civil rights, we can all do our part to prevent, reduce, and mitigate the harms of discrimination and harassment in our state. Whether you’re an employer, housing provider, or member of the public, I encourage everyone to take advantage of the resources offered by our department.”

A key component of meeting CRD’s mission to enforce the state’s robust civil rights laws and reducing discrimination is ensuring Californians have accurate and timely information about their rights and responsibilities. CRD works to support this goal through a range of proactive outreach efforts, including conducting trainings and presentations that reach hundreds of thousands of Californians each year, publishing and disseminating guides and factsheets on California’s civil rights laws, and working directly with community partners to identify and respond to the civil rights challenges faced by Californians across the state.

Beginning on Wednesday, October 18 at 11 AM PT, CRD is expanding on its outreach efforts through the new “Civil Rights 101” monthly webinar series. The webinars are set to take place every third Wednesday from 11 AM to 12 PM PT. Alternating month-to-month between issues around discrimination in housing or employment, the webinar series is geared toward educating tenants, housing seekers, landlords, property managers, housing providers, employers, hiring managers, human resource professionals, workers, job seekers, and the general public of their civil rights and responsibilities under the law. From topics such as source-of-income discrimination in housing to reasonable accommodation requirements in employment, the new webinar series aims to be the go-to resource for addressing basic questions around the application of California’s civil rights laws.

You can register now to attend the first three webinars by clicking on the links below:

• October 18: Fair Housing 101 — Register
• November 15: Employment Discrimination 101 — Register
• December 20: Fair Housing 101 — Register

General information about the new webinar series is available here. A list of guides and factsheets offered by CRD is available here. If you or someone you know has been the victim of discrimination, CRD may be able to assist you through its complaint process. General information about CRD’s complaint process and how to file a complaint is available here.

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.

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