Fair Employment and Housing Commission Is Being Eliminated

Governor Jerry Brown issued the 2011/12 May Budget Revision (May Revise) in an attempt to reduce the  multi-billion dollar deficit.  As part of the revised budget the Governor eliminates and/or consolidatse many governmental programs.  Under the revised budget, the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC)—the civil rights agency with administrative adjudication and regulatory responsibility—will be eliminated effective January 1, 2012.  The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH)—the remaining civil rights agency with intake, conciliation, mediation and prosecutorial responsibility—will continue to operate.

What does this mean for employers and employees? While the DFEH can still receive, investigate and even prosecute claims of discrimination, the parties will no longer be able to pursue claims before the Fair Employment and Housing Commission.  Those that have litigated in both forums realize that the FEHC is oftentimes a lower-cost alternative to litigating discrimination cases.  While some feel that the FEHC was too employee-friendly, a review of published decisions indicate that the amounts awarded to successful claimants before the FEHC were oftentimes significantly lower than similar cases decided by a jury.

Other actions put in place by the revised budget include:

• Accelerate End of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Task Force
• Eliminate    the    California    Privacy    Security    Advisory    Board
• Eliminate the Health Care Quality Improvement and Cost Containment Commission
• Eliminate    the    Colorado    River    Board
• Eliminate    the    Salton    Sea    Council
• Eliminate    the    State    Mining    and    Geology    Board
• Eliminate Nine Advisory Committees and Review Panels at the Department of Fish and Game
• Eliminate    the    Commission    on    Emergency    Medical    Services
• Eliminate the California Health Policy and Data Advisory Commission (CHPDAC)
• Eliminate    the    Healthcare    Workforce    Policy    Commission
• Eliminate    the    Rural    Health    Policy    Council
• Eliminate    the    Public    Health    Advisory    Committee    (PHAC)
• Eliminate the California Medical Assistance Commission (CMAC)
• Eliminate    the    Rehabilitation    Appeals    Board    (RAB)
• Eliminate    the    Continuing    Care    Advisory    Committee    (CCAC)
• Eliminate the Office of the Insurance Advisor (OIA) within the State and Consumer Services Agency
• Eliminate the Office of Gang and Youth Violence Prevention
• Eliminate    California    Emergency    Council    (CEC)
• Eliminate    the    California    Law    Revision    Commission
• Eliminate    the    Commission    on    Uniform    State    Laws
• Eliminate the Office of Privacy Protection within the State and Consumer Services Agency
• Eliminate    the    Unemployment    Insurance    Appeals    Board
• Eliminate the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Standards Board
• Reduce the Labor and Workforce Development Agency
• Eliminate    Child    Care    Monitoring    Support
• Transfer Support of the Governor’s Commission on Employment of People with Disabilities to the Department of Rehabilitation
•  The    Office    of    Secretary    of    Education    has been eliminated
• The    Inspector    General    for    the    American    Recovery    and Reinvestment Act has been eliminated
• No travel by state employees is permitted unless mission critical

In total, the proposals in the revised budget are supposed to save $82.7 million ($41.5 million General Fund).

You can download a copy of the state agencies that are slated to be eliminated or reduced

You can also download the entire Revised Budget Plan.