If the employee is not satisfied with the results of the preliminary efforts, he or she may file a formal complaint using the City's Discrimination Complaint Procedure. The City's Discrimination Complaint Procedure The City's Discrimination Complaint Procedure gives City employees and candidates for City employment the right to file a written complaint with the City's Civil Service Commission. The complaint must deal with a City action, procedure or practice in hiring or employment which the employee or prospective employee believes to be discriminatory. Complaints alleging sexual orientation discrimination are covered by the City's Discrimination Complaint Procedure. Complaints made under the City's Discrimination Complaint Procedure must be filed within one year of the alleged act of discrimination.
Sexual orientation is defined as meaning heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality.
The FEHA's protections extend to actual, as well as perceived sexual orientation, and include persons who are discriminated against because of their association with a person who is of a particular sexual orientation or who is perceived to be of a particular sexual orientation. Employees who believe they have been discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation have the right to file a complaint with the Department of Fair Employment and Housing within one year of the alleged discriminatory act.