A state bill to bolster California’s civil rights protections by banning caste discrimination cleared a major obstacle Wednesday, passing through the Assembly Judiciary Committee by a 9-0 vote after some language changes.
The bill already passed in the state Senate in May with a near-unanimous 34-1 vote, originally adding “caste” as a distinct protected category to the state’s anti-discrimination laws. That language received polarizing feedback at a similar Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in April, drawing hundreds of members of the public in one of the largest crowds of the current legislative session.
Supporters say Senate Bill 403 will give people experiencing caste-based discrimination the clarity they need to file investigations and benefit from the state’s anti-discrimination laws. They point to the growing South Asian American population in the state of California, and a need for protections in various sectors like the tech industry and housing.
