Ritu Jha-
California governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill that create a first-of-its-kind program to address rising hate and harassment of customers at businesses.
Authored by Assemblymember Philip Ting (D-San Francisco) along with the support of civil rights organizations, Bill AB 2448 directs the state’s Civil Rights Department to create a pilot program that recognizes businesses for creating safe and welcoming environments for customers free from discrimination and harassment.
The bill is effective as of January 1, 2023.
Another bill, SB1161, authored by Senator Dave Min directs transit agencies to collect data on when, where and why street harassment occurs and how it impacts transit riders. The measures, called the ‘No Place for Hate Bills’, are aimed at stemming hate crimes directed at members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities on public transit, streets and retail stores.
Krishnan Jayaraman, a recent Indian American victim of racial abuse at a Taco Bell where he was abused by a fellow Indian American customer but was allegedly not provided any support by either the staff or the police, said he welcomed the new law. “It is really a good bill, and I wish it had been in place when my incident happened,” he told indica. “I am happy they have taken legislative action.”
Assemblymember Ting clarified that this legislation is not a hate-crime bill. “Fortunately, employees do know what to do. So, some companies are educating their employees and letting people know what can really be done in these situations,” Ting said. “The environment is unfriendly. In the last couple of years, people have got harassed even as they were only shopping.”
About its implications for business, Ting said, “This implies to all businesses and big companies with 100 or more franchises that everyone has a right to shop without being harassed and what we wanted to do is really recognize those companies that fight against hate, and create more welcoming and safe spaces. We had a training program clause included but it was taken out during appropriation.”
Jayaraman said, “I hope the bill is implemented properly. In my case, the district attorney told me to not expect anything in my case and there is not much hope they are going to punish this man. They will file charges, but I was told to not expect anything.”
The charges were filed only after the media and civil rights organizations took note of the incident. Jayaraman said the laws are in place, but how well they are implemented is yet to be seen. “I can never go back ever again (to the Taco Bell outlet). It’s difficult and it brings back the hurt, and you keep looking over the shoulder,” Jayaraman said.
Ting said he was working on another bill to train the police about hate crimes, but unfortunately, that did not work.
However, Ting thanked civil rights advocacy groups and organizations like Stop AAPI Hate, and said that they are the ones who brought this bill.
Candice Cho, managing director of policy and counsel, AAPI Equity Alliance (co-founding partner of Stop AAPI Hate), who sponsored the bill, told indica that since the start of the pandemic, Stop AAPI Hate has received thousands of reports of hate incidents in California, a quarter of which take place at businesses.
“These are places like restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations,” she said. “Sadly, AAPIs are not alone in being verbally harassed, shunned, profiled, or targeted at businesses for their race, gender, or other parts of their identity. Research shows that Black, Latinx, women, LGBTQ+ and other customers face similar experiences at businesses.”
She said her organization’s goal with the bill is to shift the burden away from customers to protect themselves, and onto the state and businesses to do more to protect customers.
Cho explained that the process of businesses identifying hate crimes and their sensitization of dealing with such incidents can be effected by training them to understand that a majority of reports of hate shared with us by AAPIs in California and nationwide are of verbal harassment that are not crimes or hate crimes. “Some of these hate incidents are violations of civil rights laws that protect us in places like businesses. The bill empowers the Civil Rights Department to incentivize businesses to do more to take a stand against this hate, whether it is helping employees understand their duties under civil rights laws or customers understand their rights.”
Stop AAPI Hate coalition said the legislation was created in response to more than 4,000 hate incidents reported in California during the past two years; nationwide, the coalition received more than 11,000 reports. Of these incidents, almost two-thirds were verbal harassment and about three-quarters occurred in publicly accessible spaces — on the street, on public transit, and in businesses.
Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and Executive Director of the AAPI Equity Alliance, said in a press note, “This law names hate-based harassment as a pervasive problem. It is an essential first step in creating safer environments for customers.”
The bill states: “This bill would require the department to establish a pilot program on or before January 1, 2025, to recognize businesses that create environments free from discrimination and harassment and would require the department to develop criteria to qualify for recognition, including, among other things, demonstrating compliance with the Unruh Civil Rights Act. The bill would require the department to provide a certificate to qualifying businesses and publish on its internet website a database of businesses receiving that certificate. The bill would require the department to evaluate whether that recognition is effective on or before January 1, 2028, as specified. The bill would provide that recognition under the pilot program does not establish and is not relevant to any defense of claims brought under existing law. The bill would repeal its provisions on July 1, 2028.”
