The California State Assembly has taken a major step in tackling caste-based discrimination by approving the SB 403 invoice on August twenty eighth. This laws, designed to amend anti-discrimination legal guidelines, goals to counteract bias in opposition to marginalized communities.

The California state senate had earlier given the nod to this laws, making California poised to develop into the primary US state to include caste as a safeguarded class in its anti-discrimination legal guidelines.

The invoice’s sponsor, California State Senator Aisha Wahab, emphasised the significance of stopping discrimination linked to caste inside organizations and corporations. She said earlier this yr, “We want to ensure organisations and companies do not entrench caste discrimination in their practices or policies, and in order to do that we need to make it plainly clear that discrimination based on caste is against the law.”

If handed, California will set a precedent by turning into the primary state within the US to handle caste discrimination by means of such laws. The invoice has gained traction with help from teams advocating for equality and equity.

In response to right this moment’s Assembly vote, the Hindu American Foundation’s Executive Director, Suhag Shukla mentioned, “Today is a sad day. California has reawakened its racist past in passing legislation that demonizes and targets South Asians and Hindus. Fifty California legislators chose to side with anti-Hindu hate groups rather than showing moral courage and upholding the Constitution. When a state legislator pushes a law with the intent of targeting an ethnic community, it’s not only racist, it’s unconstitutional. We will explore every option to protect the rights of Hindu Californians. To the 27 legislators who abstained and the three who voted no, thank you for standing on the side of equality and justice.”

Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA) praised the choice and wrote, “Landmark. Historic. Unprecedented. We are proud to share that California state assembly passed anti caste discrimination bill #SB403 with overwhelming majority. This is what Educate, Agitate and Organize looks like.”

California has encountered caste-related discussions beforehand. The state presently prohibits discrimination primarily based on components akin to nationwide origin, race, faith, and sexual orientation. The case in opposition to Cisco in 2020 raised consciousness about caste discrimination, leading to tech corporations introducing instructional workshops on the subject.

Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, tailored its worker conduct coverage to explicitly prohibit caste discrimination in 2020. Furthermore, each the California Democratic Party and the State University system included anti-caste provisions.