Employers in California may not discriminate against employees or job applicants based on characteristics such as:

• Age
• Race or color
• Religion
• Sexual orientation
• Physical or mental disability
• Medical condition
• Pregnancy
• Ancestry
• Family or marital status

Employers with fewer than five employees may be exempt from some of these requirements.

Discrimination can include actions like refusing to hire, firing, or treating someone unfairly based on one of the protected characteristics. Harassment may involve offensive remarks, threats, or any other behavior targeting someone because of a protected trait. Employers can be held liable if they knew—or should have known—about harassment and failed to act.