Bill Text: CA AB933 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Privileged communications: incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-1)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-10 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 670, Statutes of 2023. [AB933 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB933-Chaptered.html
Assembly Bill
No. 933
CHAPTER 670
An act to add Section 47.1 to the Civil Code, relating to privileged communications.
[
Approved by
Governor
October 10, 2023.
Filed with
Secretary of State
October 10, 2023.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 933, Aguiar-Curry.
Privileged communications: incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination.
Existing law provides that libel is a false and unprivileged written publication that injures the reputation and that slander is a false and unprivileged publication, orally uttered, that injures the reputation, as specified. Existing law makes certain publications and communications privileged and therefore protected from civil action, including complaints of sexual harassment by an employee, without malice, to an employer based on credible evidence and communications between the employer and interested persons regarding a complaint of sexual harassment.
This bill would include among those privileged communications a communication made by an individual, without malice, regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination, as defined, and would specify the attorney’s fees and damages available to a prevailing defendant in any
defamation action brought against that defendant for making that communication.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: NO Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 47.1 is added to the Civil Code, to read:47.1.
(a) A communication made by an individual, without malice, regarding an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination is privileged under Section 47.(b) A prevailing defendant in any defamation action brought against that defendant for making a communication that is privileged under this section shall be entitled to their reasonable attorney’s fees and costs for successfully defending themselves in the litigation, plus treble damages for any harm caused to them by the defamation action against them, in addition to punitive damages available under Section 3294 or any other relief otherwise permitted by law.
(c) This section shall only apply to an individual that has, or at any time had, a reasonable basis to file a complaint of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination, whether the complaint is, or was, filed or not.
(d) For the purposes of this section, “communication” means factual information related to an incident of sexual assault, harassment, or discrimination experienced by the individual making the communication, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(1) An act of sexual assault.
(2) An act of sexual harassment, as described in Section 51.9.
(3) An act of workplace harassment or discrimination, failure to prevent an act of
workplace harassment or discrimination, aiding, abetting, inciting, compelling, or coercing an act of workplace harassment or discrimination, or an act of retaliation against a person for reporting or opposing workplace harassment or discrimination, as described in subdivision (a), (h), (i), (j), or (k) of Section 12940 of the Government Code.
(4) An act of harassment or discrimination, or an act of retaliation against a person for reporting harassment or discrimination, by the owner of a housing accommodation, as described in Section 12955 of the Government Code.
(5) An act of sexual harassment, as defined in Sections 212.5 and 66262.5 of the Education Code.
(6) An act of harassment or discrimination, or an act of retaliation against a person for reporting harassment or discrimination, based on any of the protected classes enumerated in Sections 220, 221.51, and 66270 of the Education Code.
(7) An act of cyber sexual bullying, as defined in Section 48900 of the Education Code.
