Get help for discrimination at work

Learn what to do if you experience harassment or discrimination at work.

Discrimination at work is illegal in San Francisco.

Employers may not treat you differently because of your:  

  • Age
  • AIDS/HIV status
  • Ancestry
  • Color
  • Creed (your beliefs and your habits based on those beliefs)
  • Disability
  • Domestic partnership
  • Gender
  • Height
  • Marital status 
  • National origin
  • Race
  • Religion 
  • Sex
  • Sexual orientation 
  • Weight

 

What is prohibited?

The characteristics in the list above are protected.

Employers cannot make any of these decisions about you based on protected characteristics:

  • Refuse to hire you
  • Fire you
  • Decide not to promote you
  • Change your job benefits
  • Change your job duties
  • Harass you, or let you get harassed
  • Set limits
  • Isolate you

Employers also cannot:

  • Refuse to make reasonable accommodations for your disability or religion

San Francisco's Fair Chance Ordinance regulates how employers use criminal history information.

What you can do if you experience job discrimination

You can file a complaint with the Human Rights Commission if you think you have experienced job discrimination.

You can also file a complaint with a state or federal agency:

California Civil Rights Department
Phone: 800-884-1684

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Phone: 800-669-4000
File a complaint
Office: 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
Mail: P.O Box 36025, San Francisco, CA 94102-3661

Última actualización August 2, 2023