[chargingmarmot]

The bill is opposed by the Hindu American Foundation. They give their rationale for opposing the bill in:

https://www.hinduamerican.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/HAF...

They state:

"We share the admirable goals of protecting civil rights and eliminating all forms of prejudice and discrimination, including based on caste. As such, the question is not whether we deal with allegations of caste discrimination, but how. If and when caste discrimination allegations emerge, they should be adjudicated under the existing protected class of ancestry, just as the state of California did in California Department of Fair Employment Housing v. Cisco Systems, Inc."

They state in https://www.hinduamerican.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Cas...

"All of these measures can be traced back to allegations being made by a for-profit, activist entity called Equality Labs which stands to profit from its caste competency training services."

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I'm inclined to agree with them that caste discrimination is probably already illegal on the basis of ancestry.

(Unfortunately laws themselves don't eliminate prejudice.)

[anon20230907]

I don't think limiting to existing "ancestry" category does the issue justice. Subtly being asked family surnames, dietary choices, etc might not be seen under current laws as the beginning stages of discrimination. Caste needs to be called out plain and simple as an unwelcome cultural practice in California (and eventually American) culture and one that is illegal to make any workplace decisions on. This makes California an increasingly attractive place to work and live and serves as a beacon for other countries around the world to implement the same policies.

It'd be nice if a nonprofit would take on the education piece, though.