The Civil Rights Department (CRD) is the largest state civil rights agency in the country, operating out of six (6) offices throughout California. CRD’s mission is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, and state-funded and state-administered programs and activities, and from hate violence and human trafficking. To accomplish this mission, CRD receives, investigates, conciliates, mediates, and prosecutes complaints of alleged violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Unruh Civil Rights Act, Disabled Persons Act, and statutes prohibiting discrimination in state-funded activities and programs, among other civil rights laws. CRD also enforces the Ralph Civil Rights Act, which forbids acts of violence or threats of violence because of a person’s actual or perceived sex/gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions) gender identity, gender expression, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, immigration status, political affiliation, or position in a labor dispute.
