CALIFORNIA PROTECTS
THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF
IMMIGRANTS
FACT SHEET
CRD is committed to ensuring
that all Californians, regardless
of immigration status, can live
free from discrimination.
EMPLOYMENT
You are protected from being red from your
job, harassed at work, treated worse than
co-workers with the same job, and other
forms of discrimination, because of your
race, ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex,
sexual orientation, gender identity, disability,
religion, age (40 and over), and certain other
characteristics. In addition, there are certain
protections related to immigration status,
citizenship, and language.
EXAMPLES OF UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION:
• National Origin/Ancestry. “My employer
treats employees from a particular country
(or a particular ancestry) worse than
employees originally from the United States,
even though we do the same job and have
more experience.”
• Harassment. “My co-workers regularly say
derogatory things about immigrants and
people originally from the country where
I was born. My employer refuses to do
anything to stop it.”
• English Only. “My employer told me I have
to speak English at work, even when I’m on
break and even though there is no business
reason for this rule.”
• Accent. “My employer treats me unfairly
because I speak English with an accent,
even though my co-workers and our
customers understand me perfectly.”
• Retaliation. “My employer threatened to
call immigration authorities on me because
I complained about harassment on the job.”
• Immigration Inquiries. An employer may
not look into an applicant’s or employee’s
immigration status, unless the employer
must do so to comply with federal
immigration law.
• Citizenship Requirements. Generally,
requiring someone to be a United States
citizen as a condition for employment is
illegal if the requirement impacts employees
or people applying for the job based on
national origin or ancestry.
• For more information about immigration,
citizenship, and language issues in
employment, see California Code of
Regulations, Title 2, Section 11028.
If you have been the subject of unlawful
employment discrimination, you may be
entitled to back pay, front pay, reinstatement,
and other remedies.
For more information, visit:
www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/employment/
BUSINESSES
You are protected from discrimination by
businesses of every kind, such as retail
stores, restaurants, hospitals, and health care
providers.
All immigrants are protected against
discrimination because of their race,
ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, disability, religion,
and certain other characteristics, as well as
primary language, immigration status, and
citizenship.
1
EXAMPLES OF UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION:
• “A hardware shop would not rent machinery
to me if I could not prove I have legal
permission to live in this country.”
•
“A restaurant denied service to me and
my family because we are not from the
United States.”
•
“A hospital made me wait much longer than
every other patient because they were not
sure I had legal permission to live in the
United States.”
If you have been the subject of unlawful
discrimination by a business, your remedies
could include damages of no less than $4,000.
For more information, visit:
www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/unruh/
HOUSING
You are protected from actions such as being
evicted, denied an apartment, charged higher
rent, or denied repairs in your rental home, if
the actions are based on your race, where you
are from, your culture, your primary language,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
disability, religion, source of income, or other
characteristics. You are also protected from
discrimination based on your citizenship or
immigration status unless you are living in
some types of affordable housing, such as
public or USDA rural housing.
California law also prohibits housing providers
from asking about your immigration status
unless you are applying for affordable housing
funded by the federal government. Additionally,
housing providers cannot harass or intimidate
you by threatening or sharing information
about your immigration status to ICE, law
enforcement, or other government agencies.
EXAMPLES OF UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION
• “The management company that runs the
apartment complex I live in threatened to tell
immigration authorities that I do not have
legal permission to live in the United States
if I don’t move out of my apartment.”
CALIFORNIA PROTECTS THE
CIVIL RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS
FACT SHEET
• “A landlord wanted to charge me a higher rent
than advertised, because I wasn’t originally
from the United States”
• “A new condominium complex is selling units
and refused to provide me with an application
because I am not a United States citizen.”
• “A realtor’s office refused to show me
properties because I do not speak English.”
If you have been the subject of unlawful housing
discrimination, you may be entitled to access the
housing that was denied to you, out-of-pocket
expenses, and other remedies.
For more information, visit:
www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/housing/
BIAS-MOTIVATED VIOLENCE
You are protected from violence or threats of
violence against you, your family, and your
property. Violence and threats of violence that
are motivated by your race, ethnicity, ancestry,
national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender
identity, disability, religion, citizenship, primary
language, immigration status, and certain other
characteristics are considered “hate violence” or
“bias-motivated violence.”
EXAMPLES OF BIAS-MOTIVATED VIOLENCE
• “A stranger spit on me and yelled at me
to go back to where I came from.”
• “My co-worker keyed my car because I
don’t speak English v
ery well.”
• “My neighbor tried to punch me while
screaming racial slur
s.”
If you have been the victim of bias-motivated
violence, you can contact CRD’s California vs.
Hate Resource Line and Network at 833-8-NO-
HATE or https://stophate.calcivilrights.ca.gov/
to learn more about your options and get
connected with resources that respect your
unique needs. For example, you have the option
to go to the police. You also have the option to
le a civil complaint with CRD, and your remedies
could include a restraining order and money to
compensate you for the harms you suffered.
For more information, visit:
www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/hateviolence/
2
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
ADMINISTERED OR FUNDED BY
CALIFORNIA
Any program or service that is run by California
or receives government funding must obey
certain civil rights laws. While some of these
programs and services may not be available to
all immigrants, none may discriminate against
applicants and beneciaries on the basis of race,
ethnicity, ancestry, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, disability, religion,
or certain other characteristics.
EXAMPLES OF UNLAWFUL DISCRIMINATION
• “Even though I’m eligible for a program for
young mothers and families in need, the
organization that runs the program turned me
away because of my ethnicity. The program is
funded by state money.”
• “The public school where my children go
to school would not let my children play
extracurricular sports because of
our ancestry.”
• “A hospital that takes Medi-Cal treated
me unfairly because I am originally from
another country.”
Any state-funded program or activity that
unlawfully discriminates could lose some or
all of its state funding, and the victim of the
discrimination may be entitled to other remedies.
For more information, visit:
www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/statefundedprograms/
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
California law protects everyone, regardless
of immigration status, from human trafcking.
Human trafcking is the exploitation of human
beings through force, fraud, or coercion for the
purposes of commercial sex or forced labor - in
other words, it is making someone do work for
money when they do not want to. It is illegal
for an employer or other covered entity to use
force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person to
work on the basis of national origin. It is also
illegal to treat employees or job applicants
adversely based on national origin.
In addition, if you are the victim of human
trafcking or many other crimes, you may
qualify for a U or T visa if you cooperate with
law enforcement to prosecute those crimes.
For more information, visit:
www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/humantrafcking/
3
If you think you have been a victim of
discrimination, please contact CRD.
TO FILE A COMPLAINT
Civil Rights Department
calcivilrights.ca.gov/complaintprocess
Toll Free: 800.884.1684
TTY: 800.700.2320
If you have a disability that requires a
reasonable accommodation, CRD can assist
you with your complaint. Contact us through
any method above or, for individuals who
are deaf or hard of hearing or have speech
disabilities, through the California Relay
Service (711).
For additional translations of this guidance, visit:
www.calcivilrights.ca.gov/posters/General
This guidance is for informational purposes only, does not establish
substantive policy or rights, and does not constitute legal advice.
CRD-A05P-ENG / October 2022
CALIFORNIA PROTECTS THE
CIVIL RIGHTS OF IMMIGRANTS
FACT SHEET
