Inventory of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Fair Employment and Housing Commission Records

Processed by The California State Archives staff; supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Brooke Dykman Dockter.

California State Archives

1020 "O" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 653-2246

Fax: (916) 653-7363

Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Inventory of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Fair Employment and Housing Commission Records

Inventory: F3929

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California

Contact Information:

California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
Fax: (916) 653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Processed by:: The California State Archives staff

Descriptive Summary

Title: Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Fair Employment and Housing Commission Records

Inventory: F3929

Creator: Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Fair Employment and Housing Commission

Extent: See Arrangement and Description

Repository: California State Archives

Sacramento, California

Language: English.

Administrative Information

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Department of Fair Employment and Housing and Fair Employment and Housing Commission Records, F3929, California State Archives.

Agency History

In 1959 the California Fair Employment Practice Act created the five member Fair Employment Practice Commission (Stats. 1959, ch. 2). Within the Department of Industrial Relations the Division of Fair Employment Practices was created to provide staff support to the Commission. In 1978 the Commission and the Division defined a separation of functions. The Commission was given responsibility for policy development and adjudicating complaints, and the Division received responsibility for processing complaints and suits. In 1980 the Division achieved departmental status within the State and Consumer Services Agency with the new name of Department of Fair Employment and Housing (Stats. 1980, ch. 992). The 1980 reorganization renamed the Commission the Fair Employment and Housing Commission.

The Fair Employment Practice Act prohibited workplace discrimination based on race, religious creed, color, national origin or ancestry. The Commission's objective is to promote fair employment practices in public and private employment. This is accomplished through programs of conciliation, education, and enforcement.

Over time the scope of the Commission's responsibilities has broadened. In 1963 the Fair Employment Practice Commission was mandated to oversee the housing anti-discrimination provisions of the Rumford Fair Housing Law (Stats. 1963, ch. 1853) and the Commission membership was increased to seven. Between 1968 and 1978 the Commission's jurisdiction expanded to include additional workers and forms of discrimination. Agricultural workers were added in 1969 and a few years later, in 1973, coverage was extended to domestic workers. In 1970 it became illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sex. These provisions were extended to include discrimination based on age (1973), physical handicap (1974), and marital status (1977).

A 1984 act extended protections to include harassment on the basis of any protected classification: race, religious creed, color, national ancestry, physical handicap, medical condition, marital status, or sex. (Stats. 1984, 1754)

Employment Discrimination Complaint Files. 1961 -1962 F3929: 1-26

Physical Description: 26 file folders.

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by year and then in order of receipt of complaint.

Each file contains information on a complaint filed with the Fair Employment Practices Commission alleging employment discrimination. The vast majority of the complaints were filed by the individuals experiencing the alleged discrimination. A few of the investigations were initiated by third parties; the numbers assigned to them end with a v. Contents of the files are very similar and include: complaint form, investigating consultant's report, commissioner's correspondence to complainant and company/agency against which the complaint was filed and a case summary with a disposition note.

Legislative Files. 1979 - 1986 F3929: 27-48

Physical Description: 1 cu. ft.

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by legislative session, then by house of origin and bill number thereunder.

Files contain analysis of legislation with regard to fair employment, fair housing and civil rights. Also included is interdivisional and interdepartmental correspondence pertaining to the proposed bill, its supporters, its opponents, anticipated impact, and the department's position on the bill.