Effective January 1, 2014, Senate Bill 292 amends California Government Code §12940, commonly known as the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, to clarify that a sexual harassment plaintiff is not required to prove, in all cases, that the sexually harassing conduct was motivated by sexual desire.

Under pre-existing case law, a plaintiff alleging sexual harassment was required to show, or prove, one of the following three elements: (1) sexual intent or desire on the part of the defendant toward the plaintiff; (2) general hostility by the defendant toward a particular sex, of which the plaintiff is a member; OR (3) comparative evidence about how the alleged harasser treated members of the sexes differently at work. See, Singleton v. United States Gypsum Co., 140 Cal. App. 4th 1547 (2006) and Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U.S. 75, 80-81 (1998), which held that no sexual desire is necessary to prove sexual harassment SB 292 ensures that all three prior offerings of proof remain valid to show a hostile work environment and/or sexual harassment.