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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.
The Law Office of Phillip J. Griego 95 South Market Street, Suite 520 San Jose, CA 95113 Tel. 408-293-6341 Original article by Robert E. Nuddleman, former associate of The Law Office of Phillip J. Griego. Feel free to suggest topics for the blog. We are happy to consider topics pertaining to general points of Labor and Employment Law, but we cannot answer questions about specific situations or provide legal advice. If you desire legal advice, you should contact an attorney. Your use of this blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the Law Office of Phillip J. Griego. The use of the Internet or this blog for communication with the firm or any individual member of the firm does not establish an attorney-client relationship. Confidential or time-sensitive information should not be posted in this blog and the Law Office of Phillip J. Griego cannot guarantee the confidentiality of anything posted to this blog. Phillip J. Griego represents employees and businesses throughout Silicon Valley and the greater San Francisco Bay Area including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Los Altos, San Jose, the South Bay Area, Campbell, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz, Saratoga, and Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, San Benito, Mendocino, and Calaveras counties.
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