Contact Us    Locations    01/05/2009

Working With the DFEH

Reaching out to employers: An interview with Suzanne Ambrose, Director, California Department of Fair Employment and Housing

It could be argued that the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (“DFEH” or “Department”), and the laws it enforces, have a greater impact on California businesses than any other State agency. Yet few businesses are as familiar as they should be with the DFEH, the laws it administers, and the resources it offers them.

The mission of the DFEH is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, and the perpetration of acts of hate violence. To accomplish its goal to prevent unlawful employment discrimination, the Department enforces the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) and regulations adopted by the Fair Employment and Housing Commission (“FEHC”) that affect such diverse activities as hiring and terminations, benefits such as family, medical and pregnancy leave, work environment, and a wide array of employment policy and procedural issues.

The DFEH receives, investigates, conciliates, and prosecutes complaints arising under the FEHA, in addition to the Unruh Civil Rights and Ralph Acts. It's the largest state civil rights enforcement agency in the country. The DFEH received 16,119 complaints in 2003-2004, and investigated 6,399 of them. Some complaints were transferred directly to civil courts, some were dismissed and some were settled before the DFEH's adjudication process began, and some were litigated by members of the DFEH's Legal Division.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Suzanne M. Ambrose Director of the DFEH in August 2004. A U.C. Berkeley and McGeorge Law graduate and 17-year state attorney, she joined the agency as an attorney, later serving as Assistant Chief Counsel and Chief Counsel of its Legal Division until joining the Attorney General's Office in 2000, where she became the Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the Civil Rights Enforcement Section in 2002.

One of Ambrose's goals is prevention of violations of the FEHA through education, by working with community groups, and developing new partnerships with the business community and housing providers.

We interviewed her on March 29, 2005.

Q. What are some of your initiatives this year?

Ms. Ambrose: “One of the most exciting intitiatives is the launch of a mediation unit to help intervene early in the complaint process. Normally, the DFEH has a year to investigate a complaint. But if the person who complains is willing to resolve the dispute early, we contact the employer immediately to see if that willingness is mutual and then set up mediation.”

Q. Why is this needed?

Ms. Ambrose: “When a complaint can be resolved quickly, everybody's better off. Even though a year is a reasonable amount of time for the Department to do its job, we know that, for the employer and the employee, it's a long time to wait.”

Q. Why wasn't this done previously?

Ms. Ambrose: “It was, but the funding ran out for the program. What's exciting is that we now have secured volunteer mediators, and can also use the FEHC's administrative law judges to mediate these cases. These are judges who already hear suits brought before the Commission, so they bring tremendous experience to the process. I'm thrilled we'll be able to reinstate the early intervention program.”

Q. What other initiatives is the Department undertaking?

Ms. Ambrose: “We're doing more outreach and education to prevent discrimination - especially in the area of sexual harassment, which has continued to be a major source of complaints. We're trying to inform businesses about AB 1825, which requires that all employers with 50 or more workers conduct sexual harassment training. The law took effect Jan. 1, 2005, and will require a minimum of two hours of interactive training for all supervisors and managers by January 1, 2006.

Although the training requirement of AB 1825 applies to businesses with 50 or more employees, the laws against harassment affect employers with as few as one worker, so it's important that all businesses understand the rules and trail all of their employees.

Q. Are there any resources that the DFEH provides for employers?

Ms. Ambrose: That's a big part of what we do. We offer pamphlets that explain all of the laws we enforce; and we work with other organizations to offer training programs that are open to everyone.”

Q. Are these resources free?

Ms. Ambrose: “It depends on the format. For instance, many of our publications can be downloaded and printed directly from the Website, www.dfeh.ca.gov, at no cost. Or by clicking on the ‘Publications’ link, visitors to our Website can print out a form with which to order our brochures, pamphlets and posters by mail.”

Q. What about the training programs? How does that work?

Ms. Ambrose: “We have a program we call ‘CERT’ (California Employers' Round Table) that partners the Department with employers to offer a forum for the exchange of information and to help provide training. A few years ago, the Northern Calfornia CERT (‘NCERT’) ceased to be active - but we are in the process of reviving it. In fact, any business interested in participating should send an e-mail to stephan.brophy@dfeh.ca.gov to be notified about future events.”

Q. What are the issues that draw the most complaints?

Ms. Ambrose: “The top three problem areas are the failure by employers to grant a ‘reasonable accommodation’ to a disabled employee, sexual harassment, and retaliation.

“Most of the cases we see regarding ‘reasonable accommodation’ aren't about the willful refusal by the employer to accommodate an employee with a physical or mental disability, but about the process. Employers get into trouble when there is a failure to engage interactively with the employee, as required by law. Employers need to work with employees and their medical providers with the goal of determining what would be the best way to accommodate an employee with a disability. The employer can't just arbitrarily make the determination without that input.

“In sexual harassment cases, the problem often is the failure of the employer to have an effective policy and training program in place; that is, one that includes a ‘zero tolerance’ statement. The policy also should incorporate an effective investigation and resolution process and remedies. Employers often don't understand that, without such policies, they can be held liable for the harassing acts of their employees.

“We also receive many retaliation complaints. These occur in situations where an employee may have filed a complaint internally, or with the Department, or both, and subsequently was transferred to another location or job, or subjected to some other materially adverse employment action. It's important for employers to understand that when an employee complains about unlawful discrimination or harassment, that is, in and of itself, a protected activity.”

“Employers also are prohibited from retaliating against other employees who oppose violations, even if they are not the victim of the discrimination. Employees who testify, or even just express concern about a violation, are protected.”

Q. What's the best way for an employer to handle a complaint?

Ms. Ambrose: “Employers should take all complaints seriously. Their workplace policies should include a clear process for investigation, resolution and remedy.

“One problem for employers is that complainants often don't want their fellow workers to know about their complaint - but the employer must advise them that they will not be able to guarantee confidentiality during an investigation.

“The employer also needs to monitor the environment carefully, to make sure that the complainant is not being subjected to any form of retailiatory behavior by other workers.

“It's not an easy situation for the employer, but if they have an effective policy in place and follow all the procedures contained in that policy, they're less likely to get into trouble.”

Q. Do you have any other recommendations for businesses that want to learn more about prevention?

Ms. Ambrose: “One of the best resources I know of is the California Chamber of Commerce. They have a wonderful Website (www.calchamber.com), help lines to call for technical advice, and a monthly newsletter that covers employment topics in detail.”

For more information about the work of the DFEH, visit: www.dfeh.ca.gov

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