Claims Filed Under the California Civil Code

A California Court of Appeal held that an employee who is subjected to violence and discrimination in the workplace could sue under specified Civil Code provisions commonly associated with the California Unruh Civil Rights Act (Unruh Act). The Unruh Act typically prohibits discrimination in housing and public accommodations.¹

In Stamps v. Superior Court, the court found that the Civil Code sections at issue were clearly not part of the Unruh Act. However, the Legislature intended the sections to respond to a perceived, growing threat of violence due to race. These Civil Code sections were intended to allow an individual to bring a civil action to stop and remedy acts of