When Does Religious Belief Become Hate Speech in California? – PJ Media– pjmedia.com

California’s next workplace lesson comes with an uncomfortable question: When does a religious belief become “hate speech”?

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1803 on September 27. Beginning Jan. 1, 2028, employers covered by California’s harassment-training law must teach workers to recognize, report, and confront certain workplace remarks.

The legislation gives employers a new assignment but leaves a contentious phrase open to interpretation.

The law addresses workplace speech that “vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred” based on protected characteristics, including religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Existing training already covers harassment involving gay and transgender employees. AB 1803 adds no separate course or mandatory hours, and employers may write their own lessons. It even says training on unlawful harassment and abusive conduct can satisfy the new requirement.

Those limits matter, but so does the lack of a precise statutory definition of the speech the bill names.

Consider two employees at a California business. One is a Christian who says their church teaches marriage is between a man and a woman. The other is Muslim and expresses the same religious conviction.