California’s AB 1803 Adds “Anti-Hate Speech” Training at Work; Christian Groups Say It Pushes a Government Viewpoint
A new California law, AB 1803, that adds “anti-hate speech training” to required workplace harassment training is drawing criticism from Christian groups and pastors, who say it pushes a government-approved viewpoint on sexuality and gender, Fox News reported Sunday.
The bill, written by Assemblymember Lowenthal, was approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 27 and takes effect Jan. 1, 2028, according to the bill’s chaptered text on the California Legislature’s website.
WHAT AB 1803 SAYS
California already requires employers with five or more employees to give at least two hours of harassment training to supervisors and one hour to other employees every two years. That training must already cover abusive conduct and harassment based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.
AB 1803 adds a new requirement: “Beginning January 1, 2028, an employer shall also include anti-hate speech training as a component of the training and education.” The law says that training “shall provide supervisors and employees with practical guidance on recognizing, reporting, and confronting workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates, or incites hatred against people based on the protected characteristics listed in subdivision (a) of Section 12940.”
Those protected characteristics under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act include race, religious creed, national origin, sex, gender identity, gender expression, age and sexual orientation, among others.
The law also says a training that covers “the prohibition against unlawful harassment and prevention of abusive conduct” based on those characteristics “satisfies the requirement.” It does not add a separate training course or extra hours, and the state must fold the training into its own 80 hours of training for new state employees.
The text does not mention churches or include a religious exemption.
‘YOU CANNOT REGULATE WHAT YOU CANNOT DEFINE’
“California has gotten excited about their ability to retrain the entire population regarding what they believe about gender and sexual orientation,” Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council, told Fox News Digital.
Burt told the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee in March, “You cannot regulate what you cannot define,” Fox reported. He argued that “hate speech” has no clear legal definition in state law and that the training could leave employers deciding whether to discipline workers over their religious beliefs.
Dr. Paul Chappell, pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church, said on the Todd Starnes podcast that “AB 1803 is poorly written and a stretch by another liberal California legislator attempting to create bias against conservatives,” according to Fox.
Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills told Fox News Digital: “It is an encroachment upon the church.” He said the measure “will be challenged.”
WHAT SUPPORTERS SAY
Equality California, the state’s leading LGBTQ+ advocacy group and a supporter of the bill, has argued that existing harassment training has a significant gap that leaves employees vulnerable to hostile work environments, Fox reported. The group declined Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital said it reached out to Newsom’s office and the California Civil Rights Department for comment.
Sources: Fox News (Oct. 18, 2026); AB 1803 (Chapter 547, Statutes of 2026), California Legislative Information.
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