California First-in-Nation Caste Bias Ban Clears Assembly Panel

California’s proposal to ban caste discrimination moved a step closer to the governor’s desk, winning approval in the state Assembly’s Judiciary Committee on a 9-0 vote.

If enacted, the legislation (SB 403) passed late Wednesday would make California the first state in the nation to explicitly ban discrimination based on caste, a rigid system of social status that affects millions of people globally, primarily those of South Asian descent. Amendments made to the bill shortly before the vote would make caste a subset of ancestry, which is already a protected category in California’s civil rights laws.

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