"Bounty hunter" incentive drives CA Civil Rights Dept off course
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** The California agency that has gone so rogue even Gavin Newsom can't control it
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Dear John,
A California Policy Center report released this week reveals that financial incentives allowing California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) to fund its budget through attorney fees has turned the department into a litigious bully that steps over plaintiff workers and strong-arms companies for the department's own financial gain. Civil rights protections in California are paying the price.
The CPC report, Enforcing Civil Rights: Does a Regulator’s Profit Motive Benefit the Public Interest? ([link removed]) , examines how the evolution of the CRD has hurt both plaintiff workers and businesses in California and outlines what actions the legislature can take to right what’s wrong.
"California's Civil Rights Department was once committed to ensuring safe, harassment-free workplaces. Now it’s the department itself that’s doing the harassing," CPC president Will Swaim explains in his National Review ([link removed]) ([link removed]) column this week.
The department previously known as California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) — renamed the Civil Rights Department (CRD) in 2022 — was founded to be the state’s xxxxxx against discrimination, charged with investigating and resolving bias claims. FEHA’s founding statutes require the department to advance the cause of civil rights through conciliation, mediation and settlement.
Over decades, CRD lost touch with those principles. Today, CRD is less an objective factfinder or mediator of disputes, and has instead become an increasingly aggressive and litigious regulator, butting heads with federal counterparts, civil rights attorneys, and even the victims of harassment and discrimination it was founded to protect.
Contributing to the dramatic shift is SB 1038, which created a “special fund” connected directly to the department — outside of the state’s general fund — into which court awards or settlement would be deposited for support of the department’s budget. Often called a “bounty hunter” provision, it “creates an incentive for agencies to pursue cases and strategies with higher rates of financial return rather than the public interest, in the hope of sharing some of the reward,” according to the report.
Subsequently, CRD has become more aggressive, often “bigfooting” its way into major cases, the report explains, “figuratively stepping on and over plaintiffs and other regulators who developed the case — to take control and potentially reap the rewards”:
* In the high-profile case against video game producer Riot Games, DFEH stepped in to block a pending settlement and made a headline-grabbing demand of $400 million. The final settlement allotted DFEH between $5-$8.5 million in attorney fees and costs.
* DFEH fought to block another substantial settlement led by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against video game manufacturer Activision Blizzard, causing a “turf war” between the two agencies that the judge called “a bit unseemly.” Despite the eventual settlement of the case, DFEH continues to appeal the ruling, delaying resolution for the plaintiffs.
* In a lawsuit filed against Tesla in 2022, DFEH’s filing included a “thorough scalding of a company brand, beginning with its non-union status” but provided little in the way of specifics on evidence behind the charges to which Tesla could respond — likely because CRD was rushing to beat federal attorneys at the EEOC to the punch.
The bounty-hunter provision means CRD relies on massive settlements to help cover the agency’s operating costs — including paying private law firms to prosecute its lawsuits.
"This is in stark contrast to the agency’s original mission of pursuing smaller claims that plaintiffs’ attorneys would normally not," Swaim writes in National Review. "In 2020, for example, the CRD had settled more than 700 cases for a total value of less than $11.2 million."
While CRD is perhaps most in need of a drastic culture change, the California Policy Center report also recommends the legislature consider much-needed revisions to the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and SB 1038 to return the Civil Rights Department to its proper role: protecting the civil rights of California workers no matter how big the potential payday is for CRD.
To learn more about CPC's recommendations, read the full press release here. ([link removed]) Read CPC president Will Swaim's article, "The California Agency That Has Gone So Rogue Even Newsom Can’t Control It," ([link removed]) in National Review.
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** New Dates Added to "Take Back California Education Tour"
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CPC's Lance Christensen's "Take Back California Education Tour" stopped in Palm Desert earlier this week and this Saturday he'll be in Copperopolis in Calaveras County. There's still time to sign up to join Lance tomorrow afternoon! ([link removed]) Register to attend any of the education reform townhalls on Lance's route here ([link removed]) .
Upcoming dates:
* Copperopolis — April 15, 2:00-4:00 pm REGISTER NOW ([link removed])
* Glendora — April 27, 6:30-8:30 pm
* Redding — May 1, 6:30-8:30 pm
* Bakersfield — May 4, 7:00-9:00 pm
* San Francisco — May 9, 5:30-7:30 pm
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** Radio Free California #270: San Francisco's Doom Loop
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Bad news from San Francisco is coming fast, but state senator Scott Wiener and the Los Angeles Times say it’s fake. Don't miss this week's podcast with CPC president Will Swaim and CPC board member David Bahnsen. Listen now. ([link removed])
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** The Steve Hilton Show: If You Change California, You Change the Country
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CPC senior fellow Edward Ring joins Steve Hilton on his popular podcast to discuss why we can't give up on the Golden State and ways that Californians can take back their state. Listen now. ([link removed])
More from CPC ()
** National Review: The California Agency That Has Gone So Rogue Even Newsom Can’t Control It
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California’s Civil Rights Department was once committed to ensuring safe, harassment-free workplaces. Now it’s the department itself that’s doing the harassing. CPC president Will Swaim explains how the state’s war against Activision has taken on a life of its own — and why lawmakers should intervene. Read the article. ([link removed])
ICYMI: SB 292 — Is California Ready For School Choice?
CPC is sponsoring Senate Bill 292 — the California Education Savings Account Act of 2024. The legislation introduced by state Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). would create an ESA for every California student and allow parents to choose what accredited K-12 school best suits their child’s needs. The student’s share of Prop 98 education funding follows them to that school. Learn more. ([link removed])
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