3073.9. (a) No building and construction trades apprenticeship program shall discriminate against any apprentice or applicant for apprenticeship on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age for individuals over forty years of age, military or veteran status, or sexual orientation with regard to all of the following:
(1) Recruitment, outreach, and selection procedures.
(2) Hiring or placement, upgrading, periodic advancement, promotion, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff, and rehiring.
(3) Rotation among work processes.
(4) Imposition of penalties or other disciplinary action.
(5) Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation.
(6) Conditions of work.
(7) Hours of work and hours of training provided.
(8) Job assignments.
(9) Leaves of absence, sick leave, or any other leave.
(10) Any other benefit, term, condition, or privilege associated with apprenticeship.
(b) In implementing this section, the division and the Administrator of Apprenticeship shall look to the legal standards, defenses, and exceptions applied under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, its implementing regulations, and any interpretive guidance issued by the Civil Rights Department in determining whether a building and construction trades apprenticeship program has engaged in a practice prohibited by subdivision (a).
(c) Each building and construction trades apprenticeship program shall take affirmative steps to provide equal opportunity in apprenticeship, including:
(1) The apprenticeship program shall designate one or more individuals with appropriate authority under the program, such as an apprenticeship coordinator, to be responsible and accountable for overseeing the program’s commitment to equal opportunity in apprenticeship. The designees shall have the resources of, support of, and access to, the apprenticeship program leadership, to ensure effective implementation. The designees will be responsible for all of the following:
(A) Monitoring all apprenticeship activity to ensure compliance with the nondiscrimination obligations required by this section.
(B) Maintaining records required under this section.
(C) Generating and submitting reports as may be required by the division.
(2) The apprenticeship program shall inform all applicants for apprenticeship, apprentices, instructors, and employees of the apprenticeship program of its commitment to equal opportunity. The apprenticeship program shall require that apprentices, instructors, and employees of the apprenticeship program take the necessary action to aid the apprenticeship program in meeting its nondiscrimination obligations under this section. The apprenticeship program, at a minimum, shall do all of the following:
(A) Publish its equal opportunity pledge set forth in subdivision (c) in the program’s apprenticeship standards, and in appropriate publications, such as apprentice and employee handbooks, policy manuals, newsletters, or other documents disseminated by the apprenticeship program that otherwise describe the nature of the program.
(B) Post its equal opportunity pledge set forth in subdivision (c) on bulletin boards, including through electronic media, such that it is accessible to apprentices and applicants for apprenticeship.
(C) Conduct orientation and periodic information sessions for apprentices, instructors, and employees of the apprenticeship program to inform and remind such individuals of the apprenticeship program’s equal employment opportunity policy, and to provide the training required by subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4).
(D) Provide annual notice to any contractor that employs apprentices of the apprenticeship program’s commitment to equal opportunity and the contractor’s obligation to ensure that apprentices it employs are not harassed or discriminated against on any of the bases described in subdivision (a).
(E) Maintain records necessary to demonstrate compliance with these requirements, including records of complaints, and make them available to the Division of Apprenticeship Standards upon request.
(3) The apprenticeship program shall implement measures to ensure that its outreach and recruitment efforts for apprentices extend to all persons available for apprenticeship within the apprenticeship program’s relevant recruitment area without regard to the characteristics described in subdivision (a).
(4) The apprenticeship program shall develop and implement procedures to ensure that its apprentices are not harassed or discriminated against on any of the bases described in subdivision (a), and to ensure that its apprenticeship program is free from intimidation and retaliation. To promote an environment in which all apprentices feel safe, welcomed, and treated fairly, the apprenticeship program shall ensure all of the following steps are taken:
(A) Providing antiharassment and antidiscrimination training to all apprentices, instructors, and employees of the apprenticeship program. This training shall not be a mere transmittal of information, but shall include participation by trainees, such as attending a training session in person or completing interactive training online. The training content shall include, at a minimum, communication of the following:
(i) That discriminatory or harassing conduct will not be tolerated.
(ii) The definition of discrimination and harassment and the types of conduct that constitute unlawful discrimination and harassment.
(iii) The complaint procedures established by the apprenticeship program as described in subparagraph (C).
(iv) The procedure for filing a complaint with the Administrator of Apprenticeship pursuant to Section 201 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.
(B) Making all facilities and apprenticeship activities available without regard to the characteristics described in subdivision (a) of this section except that if the apprenticeship program provides restrooms or changing facilities, the apprenticeship program may provide separate or all-gender toilets and changing facilities, provided that all individuals have equal access to facilities consistent with their gender identity.
(C) Establishing and implementing procedures for handling and resolving internal complaints about harassment or discrimination, including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) Designation of an individual or individuals responsible to receive complaints by apprentices of harassment or discrimination.
(ii) Procedures for prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation of complaints.
(iii) Procedures to protect the confidentiality of complaints to the extent possible and consistent with law.
(iv) Policies for immediate and appropriate corrective action when the program determines that harassment or discrimination has occurred, including policies for denying the dispatch of apprentices to, or revoking the training certification of, contractors that have been found by the apprenticeship program to have engaged in or permitted harassment of or discrimination against apprentices.
(v) Protections against retaliation for apprentices who have reported instances of harassment or discrimination.
(d) Each building and construction trades apprenticeship program shall include in its apprenticeship standards the following equal opportunity pledge:
(1) [Name of program] will not discriminate against apprenticeship applicants or apprentices based on race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age for individuals over forty years of age, military or veteran status, or sexual orientation. [Name of program] will take affirmative steps to provide equal opportunity in apprenticeship.
(2) The nondiscrimination categories listed in this pledge may be broadened to conform to consistent federal, state, and local requirements. Programs may include additional protected categories, but may not exclude any of the categories protected by this section.
(e) An apprenticeship program may provide prevention of harassment training programs for journey-level workers.
(f) An apprenticeship program shall maintain records reflecting the prevention of harassment training provided, dates of training, and apprentice or journey-level worker attendance, and shall issue a certificate of completion to the apprentice or journey-level worker.
(g) The California Apprenticeship Council may issue rules and regulations as necessary to implement this section, including about what records apprenticeship programs shall maintain to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this section. The division shall comply with the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(h) (1) Existing registered building and construction trades apprenticeship programs shall comply with all obligations of this section within 180 days of the effective date of this act.
(2) A new building and construction trades apprenticeship program registering with the Division of Apprenticeship Standards after the effective date of this act shall comply with all obligations of this section upon registration or within 180 days after the effective date of this section, whichever is later.
(i) Failure to comply with the requirements of this section may be grounds for an audit in accordance with Section 3073.1, a complaint to the Administrator of Apprenticeship in accordance with Section 201 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, or other actions in accordance with Section 212.4 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations. This section shall not create, or serve as the basis for, a private right of action, or limit any existing private right of action.
(Amended by Stats. 2022, Ch. 48, Sec. 69. (SB 189) Effective June 30, 2022.)
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