An act to amend Sections 12926 and 12950 of, and to add Section 8245.5 to, the Government Code, relating to civil rights.
AB 1940 expands California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) to expressly treat perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, and related medical conditions as part of the definition of “sex” for purposes of unlawful employment discrimination. By doing so, the bill places menopause-related conditions within the state’s civil rights framework alongside pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding-related conditions. The measure is framed as a civil rights and workplace protections bill rather than a benefits mandate.
The bill also directs the Civil Rights Department to update its employment discrimination poster by July 1, 2027, so it informs workers of rights and protections related to menopause. In addition, it adds a new Government Code section requiring the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, beginning July 1, 2027, to raise awareness of menopause-related employment rights through public education materials, multilingual outreach, coordination with state agencies, partnerships with community and labor organizations, statewide awareness campaigns, referrals to enforcement resources, and periodic evaluation of outreach effectiveness. These provisions are intended to improve awareness of existing rights, accommodations, and anti-retaliation protections rather than create a separate standalone menopause leave program.
The bill’s legal impact is to broaden the statutory definition of sex in Government Code Section 12926, which is a core FEHA definition used in employment discrimination enforcement. That change could affect how employers, employees, the Civil Rights Department, and courts analyze claims involving menopause-related bias, harassment, accommodation, or retaliation. It also requires updated state workplace notices and public education materials, which would affect employer posting obligations and state agency outreach responsibilities.
The general sentiment reflected in the bill’s voting history appears favorable and bipartisan at the committee level. The bill passed its first committee with a 7-0 vote and its next committee with a 9-3 vote, and the most recent action was a 4-0 do-pass recommendation with re-referral to Appropriations. That record suggests broad support for recognizing menopause-related workplace issues as a civil rights concern, though the Appropriations referral indicates fiscal review remains part of the process.
The main point of contention appears to be less about the underlying policy goal and more about scope, implementation, and cost. The bill requires multiple state entities to coordinate outreach, produce multilingual materials, and conduct public campaigns, which likely explains the fiscal committee referral. The use of the phrase “women people” in the poster-update language and the bill’s broad outreach mandate may also draw attention from stakeholders concerned with drafting clarity, administrative burden, or how the protections will be implemented in practice. No committee transcript is available here, so the record does not show detailed opposition arguments.
AB 1940 would amend Government Code Section 12926 to add perimenopause, menopause, postmenopause, and related medical conditions to FEHA’s definition of sex, thereby extending California employment discrimination protections to those conditions. It would also amend Government Code Section 12950 to require the Civil Rights Department to update its workplace discrimination poster by July 1, 2027, and add Government Code Section 8245.5 to direct the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls to conduct education and outreach on menopause-related employment rights. The bill affects employers, employees, the Civil Rights Department, and the Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, but does not itself create a new leave entitlement or appropriation.
The available vote history suggests generally positive sentiment toward the bill. It advanced through committee with unanimous or near-unanimous support in earlier hearings and then a 4-0 do-pass recommendation in the most recent committee action. That pattern indicates the measure is broadly viewed as a civil rights and workplace awareness bill with policy merit, though it still faces fiscal review. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no direct record of floor-level debate or detailed stakeholder testimony.
The likely areas of contention are implementation burden, fiscal impact, and the breadth of the outreach requirements rather than the core recognition of menopause as a protected sex-based condition. The bill requires the state to update posters, produce multilingual educational materials, coordinate across several agencies, and conduct statewide awareness campaigns, all of which can raise administrative and budget concerns. Stakeholders may also scrutinize the bill’s wording and whether existing FEHA protections already cover some menopause-related claims without an explicit statutory amendment. No specific opposition arguments are available in the provided record.