Senate BillChaptered/SignedGovernment
SB 303: Employment: bias mitigation training: unlawful discrimination.
What SB 303 does, verified December 6, 2025
This bill aims to protect employees who participate in bias mitigation training from being accused of unlawful discrimination. It allows employees to disclose their personal biases made in good faith as part of the training, without this being considered discriminatory. This protection is intended to encourage honest and open discussions about bias, leading to a more inclusive and respectful work environment. The bill clarifies that such disclosures are not considered unlawful discrimination, as long as they were made sincerely and as part of a required training program.
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Last action: Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 216, Statutes of 2025. (2025-09-02)Alert me
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| Oct. 01, 2025 | Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 216, Statutes of 2025. |
| Oct. 01, 2025 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Sep. 09, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m. |
| Sep. 02, 2025 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 36. Noes 0. Page 2407.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
| Sep. 02, 2025 | Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 36. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. |
Latest bill textChaptered version, October 1, 2025 · 337 words
Senate Bill No. 303
CHAPTER 216
An act to add Section 12940.2 to the Government Code, relating to discrimination.
[ Approved by Governor October 01, 2025. Filed with Secretary of State October 01, 2025. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 303, Smallwood-Cuevas. Employment: bias mitigation training: unlawful discrimination.
Existing law, the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, prohibits various forms of employment and housing discrimination, including various types of discrimination because of national origin. Existing law empowers the Civil Rights Department to investigate and prosecute complaints alleging unlawful practices.
This bill would provide that an employee’s assessment, testing, admission, or acknowledgment of their own personal bias that was made in good faith and solicited or required as part of a bias mitigation training does not constitute unlawful discrimination, as prescribed.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 12940.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:12940.2.
(a) Notwithstanding any other law, an employee’s assessment, testing, admission, or acknowledgment of their own personal bias that was made in good faith and solicited or required as part of a bias mitigation training does not, by itself, constitute unlawful discrimination.(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do both of the following:
(1) Encourage employers to conduct bias mitigation trainings.
(2) Affirm that conducting a bias mitigation training does not, by itself, constitute unlawful discrimination.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, “bias mitigation training” means bias mitigation or bias elimination training, education, and activities provided by an employer for the purpose of educating employees on understanding, recognizing, or acknowledging the influence of conscious and unconscious thought processes and their associated impacts. Bias mitigation training shall include implementing specific strategies to mitigate the impact of employees’ personal biases.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), “specific strategies” includes, but is not limited to, assessing or testing for personal bias, analyzing bias assessments or tests, conducting bias training, conducting workshops, using toolkits, and tracking bias mitigation and elimination.
Text of SB 303 as chaptered, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions