California enacts new anti-hate training requirements for state officials, private sector employees

From right, Asm. Dr. Corey Jackson, D-Moreno Valley; then-Asm. Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento; and Asm. Mia Bonta, D-Alameda, participate in a State of Black California listening session in Sacramento on Sept. 14, 2024. McCarty is now mayor of Sacramento. CBM file photo by Antonio Ray Harvey

California is adding new anti-hate training requirements for elected officials and some private sector employees after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two bills aimed at strengthening how government agencies and employers respond to hate speech and bias.

Assembly Bill (AB) 1578, authored by Assemblymember Dr. Corey Jackson (D-Moreno Valley), requires state elected officials and certain elected local agency officials to complete training on responding to hate, de-escalation tactics and confronting hate speech beginning Jan. 1, 2028. AB 1803, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) and co-authored by Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-Hollywood), requires employers with five or more employees to incorporate anti-hate speech training into existing workplace sexual-harassment prevention training beginning the same year.

Newsom signed both measures Sept. 27.

The new legislation comes as California continues to record thousands of reported hate-related offenses and bias incidents each year.

According to the California Department of Justice's (DOJ) most recent Hate Crime in California report, 1,955 hate crime events were reported statewide in 2025, a 3.4% decrease from 2,023 and 2024.

However, reported hate crime events involving racial or ethnic bias increased 6.2%, from 1,011 to 1,074.

Anti-Black bias remains the most frequently reported category. The number of reported anti-Black or African American bias events increased from 494 in 2024 to 508 in 2025, a 2.8% increase. Anti-Hispanic or Latino bias events increased 30.3%, from 198 to 258. Reported anti-Islamic bias events rose from 24 to 38, while anti-transgender bias events increased from 73 to 90.

The state also reported 2,402 victims of hate crimes in 2025. Hate crimes referred for prosecution increased from 818 in 2024 to 870 in 2025, with 595 of those cases ultimately filed for prosecution by district attorneys and elected city attorneys.

The DOJ cautions that hate-crime data is historically underreported and that comparisons should be made carefully because not all law-enforcement agencies submitted a full year of data for 2025.

“Confronting hate requires more than words. It requires turning what we hear from our communities into meaningful policy,” Jackson told California Black Media (CBM).

“I’m proud that two bills from our anti-hate legislative package, AB 1578 and AB 1803, were signed into law, and grateful to Assemblymembers Josh Lowenthal and Patrick Ahrens for their partnership and leadership,” continued Jackson.

Jackson's work on the legislation followed a year of investigation by the Assembly Select Committee on Racism, Hate and Xenophobia, which he chairs. The bills were also informed by findings from California's Commission on the State of Hate.

AB 1578 establishes anti-hate training requirements for public officials. Beginning in 2028, state elected officials must complete at least one hour of training on responding to hate within six months of taking office and every two years thereafter. Elected local agency officials will receive anti-hate speech training through existing sexual-harassment prevention training requirements.

The law covers recognizing, reporting, confronting and responding to speech that vilifies, humiliates or incites hatred against people based on specified protected characteristics.

For Lowenthal, extending anti-hate education into workplaces is intended to give employees and supervisors tools for addressing problematic conduct before it escalates.

“There’s no ambiguity in hate speech, so there should be no ambiguity in its prevention,” Lowenthal said. “That is why AB 1803 draws a clear line that intolerant speech will not be tolerated in California’s workplaces.”

AB 1803 applies to employers with five or more employees and requires anti-hate speech training to be incorporated into the state's existing workplace sexual-harassment prevention framework. The training is intended to help employees and supervisors recognize, report and confront workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates or incites hatred based on protected characteristics. 

Zbur, who was also a lead author of AB 1803, said the measure is intended to provide workers and employers with practical tools for responding to hate.

“Hate has no place in California’s workplaces, and every worker deserves to feel safe and respected on the job,” Zbur said. “AB 1803 gives workers and employers the tools to better recognize and respond to hate before it escalates.”

The above article by Edward Henderson is reprinted here with the permission of California Black Media, a partner of East Palo Alto Today.