Department of Fair Employment and Housing 2379986 217311179 2008-06-05T14:09:43Z Hu12 921400 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 105453591 by [[Special:Contributions/24.155.77.57|24.155.77.57]] ([[User talk:24.155.77.57|talk]]) The '''Department of Fair Employment and Housing''' (or DFEH) is a branch of the [[government of California|California government]] intended to protect [[civil rights]]. It is the largest such agency in the [[United States]], and enforces [[U.S. state|state]] [[anti-discrimination law]]s which pertain to housing, employment, [[public housing|public accommodations]], and public services<ref name="about">"About DFEH". ''Welcome to California''. Department of Fair Employment and Housing. http://dfeh.ca.gov/about.asp. Updated 13 December 2005. Accessed 10 July 2006.</ref>. It also provides representation to the victims of [[hate crime]]s. Originally a division within the Department of Industrial Relations, DFEH became a separate department in [[1980]]. DFEH has a director who is appointed by the [[governor of California]] and maintains a total of fifteen offices throughout the state. Today, it is considered part of the [[State and Consumer Services Agency]]. The current director of the DFEH is Phyllis W. Cheng, appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in January 2008. ==Authority== The DFEH has jurisdiction within the State of California under state laws, and it is regulated by the '''Fair Employment and Housing Commission''' (FEHC). Complaints pertaining to [[Government of the United States|federal]] laws are handled by the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] (EEOC). DFEH primarily enforces four laws: * '''[http://finduslaw.com/california_fair_employment_and_housing_act_feha_government_code_12900_12996 California Fair Employment and Housing Act]''' (FEHA): Established the Department; enforces anti-harassment and anti-discrimination legislation * '''California Family Rights Act''' (CFRA): Ensures leave rights for employees * '''Ralph Civil Rights Act''': Prohibits violence or threats of violence based on [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]], [[religion]], etc. * '''Unruh Civil Rights Act''': Forbids discrimination in housing and public accommodation Several protections afforded under these laws, such as [[sexual orientation]] and [[transgendered]] status, were not expressly included in the original document but have been determined as a matter of [[case law]]. ==Overview== <!---Based on http://70.98.255.11/about.asp---> DFEH was established by the [[Legislature of California]] in 1959 as the '''Division of Fair Employment Practices''' and was initially part of the Department of Industrial Relations. In 1980, DFEH was established as an independent department charged with enforcing California's comprehensive employment, housing, public accommodations and public service non-discrimination laws, as well as the State's [[bias]]-related hate violence law. DFEH's statutory mandate is to protect the people of California from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations pursuant to the [http://finduslaw.com/california_fair_employment_and_housing_act_feha_government_code_12900_12996 California Fair Employment and Housing Act], [[California Government Code|Government Code]] [http://finduslaw.com/california_fair_employment_and_housing_act_feha_government_code_12900_12996 section 12900, et seq.], the Unruh Civil Rights Act, [[Civil Code]] section 51, et seq., and the Ralph Civil Rights Act, Civil Code section 51.7. DFEH has jurisdiction over both [[Private entity|private]] and [[Public entity|public entities]] operating within the State of California, including corporate entities, [[private sector]] contracts granted by the State of California, and all State departments and local governments. DFEH receives and investigates [[discrimination]] complaints in its twelve district offices throughout the State. Ten offices handle employment, public accommodations and hate violence cases and two offices handle housing cases. In addition, there are three legal offices which litigate cases and provide [[Legal counsel|legal support]] to the district offices. DFEH routinely provides technical assistance to employers, business establishments and housing providers regarding their responsibilities under the law. ==Complaint process== Filing a complaint with the DFEH is free, but all victims must do so within one year of the events in question. Each complaint is reviewed to determine whether there is sufficient evidence and to determine state or federal jurisdiction. Some forms of discrimination are difficult to prove, particularly [[employment discrimination]]. Once the DFEH accepts a case, it conducts a neutral investigation and attempts to reach a compromise through avenues such as mediation. In the event that no reasonable compromise can be reached, the DFEH provides free legal representation to the victim. ==References== :''Portions of this article may have been taken from or based on material found on the official DFEH website; where applicable, this is noted in HTML comments (which are visible in the source code when [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Department_of_Fair_Employment_and_Housing&action=edit editing]). As part of the government of California, anything published by DFEH is in the [[public domain]].'' <references /> ==See also== * [[Civil rights]] * [[Civil Rights Act]] (disambiguation page) * [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] * [[Government of California]] ==External links== * [http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/ Welcome to California DFEH Homepage] * [http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/Statutes/FEHA%202005.pdf Text of the Fair Employment and Housing Act] ([[Portable Document Format|PDF]]) *[http://finduslaw.com/california_fair_employment_and_housing_act_feha_government_code_12900_12996 Text of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act - Government Code ยงยง12900 - 12996] (Navigable HTML Web page) [[Category:Government of California|Fair Employment and Housing]] [[Category:Civil rights and liberties]] [[Category:State agencies of California|Fair Employment and Housing]]