SB-1237 • 2026

Civil Rights Department.

Budget Housing Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Blakespear
Last action: 2026-04-20
Official status: April 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide details about who will review or use the annual reports from the Civil Rights Department.

Civil Rights Department Reporting and Penalties

This legislation requires the Civil Rights Department to publish annual reports on its budgetary and enforcement information for the Civil Rights Enforcement and Litigation Fund, and increases penalties for employers who fail to submit required pay data reports.

What This Bill Does

Requires the Civil Rights Department to annually publish a report of aggregate budgetary and enforcement information for the Civil Rights Enforcement and Litigation Fund.
Increases the penalty for employers who do not file a pay data report from $200 per employee to up to $1,000 per employee.

Who It Names or Affects

The Civil Rights Department
Private employers who must submit annual pay data reports

Terms To Know

Civil Rights Enforcement and Litigation Fund: A fund used by the Civil Rights Department to cover costs related to enforcing civil rights laws.
Pay Data Report: Information that private employers must submit yearly about their employees' pay rates, broken down by race, ethnicity, and gender.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify who will review or use the annual reports from the Civil Rights Department.
It is unclear how much more money the increased penalties will bring to the fund.

Bill History

2026-04-20 California Legislative Information
April 20 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
2026-04-10 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing April 20.
2026-04-08 California Legislative Information
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 10. Noes 1.) (April 7). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
2026-03-18 California Legislative Information
Set for hearing April 7.
2026-03-04 California Legislative Information
Referred to Com. on JUD.
2026-02-20 California Legislative Information
From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 22.
2026-02-19 California Legislative Information
Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 1237, as introduced, Blakespear.
Civil Rights Department.
Existing law establishes the Civil Rights Department to administer and enforce various laws relating to civil rights, including the California Fair Employment and Housing Act. Existing law establishes the Civil Rights Enforcement and Litigation Fund to be administered by the department, and authorizes the department to use the moneys in the fund upon appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act to offset the costs of the department.
This bill would require the department to annually publish a report of the aggregate budgetary and enforcement information for the fund, as specified.
Existing law requires certain private employers to annually submit a pay data report to the department that includes, among other information, the number of employees by race, ethnicity, and sex, as specified, and,
within each job category, for each combination of race, ethnicity, and sex, the median and mean hourly rate. Upon request from the Civil Rights Department, existing law requires a court to impose a civil penalty not to exceed $100 per employee upon any employer who fails to file the required report and not to exceed $200 per employee upon any employer for a subsequent failure to file the required report. Existing law requires these penalties to be payable to the fund described above.
This bill would increase the penalty for subsequent failures to file the report described above to an amount not to exceed $1,000 per employee.

Current Bill Text

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