Assembly Committee advances bill to add hate-speech content to workplace harassment training

Assemblymember Lowenthal asked the committee to advance AB 1803, a measure to require California employers with five or more employees to include anti–hate-speech content within existing workplace harassment-prevention training.

"Hate speech is not just offensive language. It can be a precursor to violence," the author said, arguing that addressing hate speech in training would help workers identify and report conduct that can escalate into more serious incidents. Dr. Stephanie Chan of Stop AAPI Hate testified that recent survey data and reporting centers show a sharp rise in bias-motivated incidents and that an estimated 2.6 million Californians experienced at least one hate act between 2022 and 2023, with many incidents occurring in workplaces.

Opponents, including Greg Birch of the California Family Council and Meg Madden representing CAUSE, urged a no vote or amendments. Birch argued the term "hate speech" has no fixed legal definition in state law and warned that training that depends on an undefined category risks censoring protected speech. Madden likewise cited U.S. Supreme Court precedents that protect offensive speech and said curriculum designers would end up defining the term in ways that could chill lawful expression.

After member questions about definitions and stakeholder engagement, the committee moved the bill forward and referred it to the Committee on Judiciary. A committee member noted the author is working with stakeholders to refine content and standards for any required training.

The committee proceedings also recorded an allegation from an opponent that an author had made an obscene gesture at a public event; the author denied prior knowledge of the event and said colleagues had apologized. The claim was raised in testimony and was not litigated or adjudicated in the hearing.

Next steps: AB 1803 was referred to the Judiciary Committee for further consideration.