Discrimination
California Updates FEHA Enforcement and Right-to-Sue Timing Rules
Updated
Senate Bill 477, authored by Senator Blakespear, amends the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to refine the enforcement procedures used by the Civil Rights Department. The measure defines the term “group or class complaint,” adds new tolling triggers for filing deadlines, and changes when the department must issue a right-to-sue notice. It takes effect January 1, 2026.
Background
The FEHA authorizes the Civil Rights Department to investigate complaints of unlawful employment and housing practices and to try to resolve them through conference, conciliation, and persuasion. Existing law allows a complaint to be filed by an aggrieved person or by the department on behalf of a group or class when an unlawful practice affects that group in a similar way.
Existing law also tolls the time for a complainant to file a civil action while a complaint is pending with the department, and it imposes deadlines of one or two years for the department to bring its own civil action. SB 477 amends Government Code sections 12926, 12960, 12965, and 12981 to clarify definitions, expand tolling, and adjust notice timing.
What the Law Changes
Government Code section 12926 now defines a “group or class complaint” to include any complaint alleging a pattern or practice, and the statute states that this definition is declaratory of, and clarifies, existing law. This applies to complaints handled under the FEHA’s employment and housing provisions.
Under Government Code section 12960, the time for a complainant to file a civil action is now also tolled where the complainant timely appeals the department’s closure of a complaint, running until one year after the department issues written notice that the complaint remains closed following that appeal. The statute states this tolling applies retroactively but is not intended to revive claims that have already lapsed.
Government Code section 12965 adds new tolling triggers for the department’s deadlines to bring a civil action and to issue a right-to-sue notice: a written agreement between the department and a respondent, the pendency of a petition to compel, and a timely internal appeal of a complaint’s closure. Where a complaint relates to a director’s complaint or a group or class complaint, the department must issue the right-to-sue notice after that related matter has been fully and finally disposed of and all proceedings have terminated.
SB 477 defines a “group or class complaint” under the FEHA, adds tolling for complaint-closure appeals, written agreements, and petitions to compel, and ties certain right-to-sue notices to the resolution of a related director or group or class complaint.
Housing Enforcement Venue
Government Code section 12981 governs the department’s civil actions in housing discrimination cases. SB 477 removes the provisions that specified the counties where such a civil action could be filed, including references to where the practice occurred, where relevant records were maintained, where the aggrieved party would have resided, or where the defendant’s residence or principal office was located.
What This Means for You
SB 477 adjusts the procedural rules for FEHA complaints, including how filing and notice deadlines are tolled, how a right-to-sue notice issues for related group or class matters, and where housing enforcement actions may be filed. These changes apply to employment and housing discrimination complaints handled by the Civil Rights Department.
I write these summaries as general information about developments in California employment law. They are not legal advice and don’t create a mediator–client relationship. For guidance on a specific matter, consult a qualified attorney.