SB 403 Summary

• Amends the Unruh Civil Rights Act to define "ancestry" as including lineal descent, heritage, parentage, caste, and any inherited social status, explicitly protecting against discrimination based on these characteristics.

• Defines "caste" as an individual's perceived position in a system of social stratification based on inherited status, characterized by inability to alter status, socially enforced restrictions on marriage and segregation, and social exclusion.

• Adds "ancestry" as a protected characteristic in California's Education Code policy statement, applying protections to public school students and defining ancestry and caste for educational purposes.

• Expands the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to include caste-based discrimination as unlawful in employment, incorporating the same definitions of ancestry and caste used throughout the bill.

• Clarifies that existing discrimination protections already encompassed ancestry-based discrimination, but this bill makes such protections explicit and comprehensive across civil rights, education, and employment laws.