ARTICLE 9.5. Discrimination [11135. - 11139.]

Cal. Government Code - GOV 9.5.

in effect

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 11135. Section 11135.

(a) No person in the State of California shall, on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual orientation, be unlawfully denied full and equal access to the benefits of, or be unlawfully subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity that is conducted, operated, or administered by the state or by any state agency, is funded directly by the state, or receives any financial assistance from the state. Notwithstanding Section 11000, this section applies to the California State University. (b) With respect to discrimination on the basis of disability, programs and activities subject to subdivision (a) shall meet the protections and prohibitions contained in Section 202 of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132), and the federal rules and regulations adopted in implementation thereof, except that if the laws of this state prescribe stronger protections and prohibitions, the programs and activities subject to subdivision (a) shall be subject to the stronger protections and prohibitions. (c) The protected bases referenced in this section have the same meanings as those terms are defined in Section 12926. (d) The protected bases used in this section include a perception that a person has any of those characteristics or that the person is associated with a person who has, or is perceived to have, any of those characteristics.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 11136. Section 11136.

Whenever a state agency that administers a program or activity that is funded directly by the state or receives any financial assistance from the state has reasonable cause to believe that a contractor, grantee, or local agency has violated the provisions of Section 11135, Part 2.8 (commencing with Section 12900) of this code, Section 51, 51.5, 51.7, 54, 54.1, or 54.2 of the Civil Code, or any regulation adopted to implement these sections or Article 1 (commencing with Section 12960) of Chapter 7 of this code, the head of the state agency, or that person’s designee, shall notify the contractor, grantee, or local agency of such violation and shall submit a complaint detailing the alleged violations to the Civil Rights Department for investigation and determination pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 12960) of Chapter 7 of this code.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 11137. Section 11137.

If it is determined that a contractor, grantee, or local agency has violated the provisions of this article, pursuant to the process described in Section 11136, the state agency that administers the program or activity involved shall take action to curtail state funding in whole or in part to such contractor, grantee, or local agency.

Cal. Government Code - GOV § 11139. Section 11139.

The prohibitions and sanctions imposed by this article are in addition to any other prohibitions and sanctions imposed by law. This article shall not be interpreted in a manner that would frustrate its purpose. This article shall not be interpreted in a manner that would undermine lawful programs which benefit members of the protected bases described in Section 11135. This article and regulations adopted pursuant to this article may be enforced by a civil action for equitable relief, which shall be independent of any other rights and remedies.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026