A MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

CHAPTERS 1-9

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  
 

CHAPTER ONE:
EMPLOYMENT

  1. Organizations Covered

    1. Employers
    2. Labor Organizations
    3. Employment Agencies
    4. Training Programs
    5. Licensing

  2. Hiring Practices

    1. Unlawful Discrimination in Hiring
    2. Looking for Work
    3. Job Applications
    4. Job Requirements
    5. Dress Codes

  3. Lawful Discrimination in Employment

    1. Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications
    2. Affirmative Action Plans
    3. Veterans

  4. Working Conditions and Benefits

    1. Equality of Working Conditions
    2. Family School Partnership Act (FSPA)
    3. Continuance of Insurance Benefits
    4. Sexual Harassment
      1. Other Common Law or Constitutional Causes of Action for Sexual Harassment
      2. Sexual Harassment By Professional and Vocational Licensees
    5. Pregnancy
      1. In General
      2. Pregnancy and Leaves of Absence
      3. Pregnancy and Employer-Provided Insurance
      4. Pregnancy and Hazardous Work Conditions
      5. Family Leave
        1. CFRA
        2. FMLA22
    6. Abortion
    7. Retirement
    8. Retaliation
    9. Workers' Compensation
    10. Paid Domestic Workers

  5. Legal Remedies

    1. Administrative Procedure and Right-to-Sue

Return to Top

CHAPTER TWO:
ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE

  1. Credit

    1. Discrimination in Granting Credit is Generally Illegal
    2. Billing Errors
    3. Credit History
    4. Credit Reporting Bureau
    5. Credit plications
    6. If Your Credit Application is Denied
    7. Cancellation of Credit Card
    8. Credit Card Theft
    9. Retail stores, finance companies and nonbank credit card issuers

  2. Business Establishments

    1. Definition
    2. Your Rights in a Business Establishments
    3. Legal Remedies

  3. Contracts

    1. What Is a Contract?
    2. Contracts With Specific Types of Businesses
      1. Health Studio Contracts
      2. Commercial Dance Studio Contracts
      3. Mail-Order Goods
      4. Door-to-Door Sales

  4. Insurance

    1. Medical Insurance
      1. Medical Insurance for Women
      2. Medical Insurance and Pregnancy
      3. Medical Insurance and Domestic Violence
      4. Sterilization
    2. Private Disability Insurance
    3. Automobile Insurance
    4. Life Insurance
    5. Where to Go for Help with Insurance Problems

  5. Public Assistance

    1. Food Stamps
      1. Eligibility
      2. Determining Your Adjusted Income
      3. Expedited Assistance
      4. For Assistance
    2. Medi-Cal
      1. Eligibility
      2. Benefits
      3. For Assistance
    3. Aid to Families with Dependent Children
      1. Eligibility
      2. Benefits
      3. For Assistance
    4. Supplemental Security Income
      1. Eligibility
      2. Benefits
      3. For Assistance
    5. Unemployment Insurance Benefits
    6. State Disability Insurance
      1. Eligibility
      2. Benefits
      3. For Assistance
    7. Women, Infants and Children
    8. General Assistance
Return to Top

CHAPTER THREE:
EDUCATION

  1. Admissions and School Programs

    1. Title IX
    2. Civil Rights Act of 1964
    3. Equal Protection Clause
    4. California Law
    5. Affirmative Action Programs
    6. Coursework
    7. Single Gender Academies
    8. Gender Equality Review
    9. Students with Disabilities
    10. Release Time for Religious and Moral Instruction
    11. Scholarships
    12. Sexual Harassment
    13. Sports
    14. Housing
    15. Social Organizations and Activities
  2. Grievances and Enforcement
Return to Top

CHAPTER FOUR:
HOUSING

  1. State Housing Laws

    1. What is Discrimination in Housing
      1. Illegal Practices
      2. Housing Discrimination Based on Your Marital Status
      3. Housing Discrimination and Children

  2. Federal Housing Laws

  3. Legal Rights and Remedies
Return to Top

CHAPTER FIVE:
HEALTH CARE

  1. Birth Control

    1. The Birth Control Pill
    2. Norplant Implants
    3. Depo-Provera
    4. The Diaphragm
    5. The Intrauterine Device
    6. The Cervical Cap
    7. The Sponge
    8. The Condom
    9. The Female Condom
    10. Sterilization
    11. Abstinence
    12. Where to Get Birth Control

  2. Rights Relating to Birth Control and Sterilization

    1. Right to Obtain Birth Control Medication/Devices
    2. Right to be Sterilized
    3. Can a sterilization operation be performed on a woman without her informed consent?
    4. What restrictions can hospitals or clinics impose when permitting sterilizations orabortions to be performed in their facilities?
    5. Is financial help available for obtaining birth control devices or sterilization?

  3. Abortion

    1. An Alternative to Abortion - Taking the Pregnancy to Term
    2. The Pregnancy Freedom of Choice Act
    3. Adoption

  4. Pregnancy

    1. Maternity Homes
    2. High-Risk Pregnancies
    3. Pregnancy Hospital Stays and Other Insurance Issues
    4. Infertility
    5. Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children

  5. STDs

    1. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
      1. Getting AIDS
      2. Precautions To Take Against Getting or Spreading AIDS
      3. AIDS and Pregnancy
      4. AIDS Testing
      5. AIDS and the Law
      6. Where to Go for Help
    2. Other STDs

  6. Breast Cancer

    1. Facts About Breast Cancer
    2. Breast Cancer and the Law
    3. Gynecological Cancers

  7. Other Commonly Asked Health Questions of Concern to Women

    1. What is Known about DES
    2. What should I know about drug prescriptions?
    3. Are breast enlargement operations legal?
    4. Can an operation be performed on me without my consent and knowledge?

  8. Long Term Illness

    1. Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
    2. Natural Death Act
    3. Right to Refuse Medical Treatment
    4. Right to Die
    5. Nursing Homes
    6. Health Care Responsibility
Return to Top

CHAPTER SIX:
DOMESTIC RELATIONS

  1. Marriage

    1. Requirements for Marriage
    2. Rights and Responsibilities
    3. Enforceable Agreements
      1. Agreements before Marriage
      2. Agreements Between Husband and Wife
      3. Agreements with Other Persons
    4. Financial and Legal Rights within Marriage
    5. Inheritance
      1. Wills
      2. Rights as the Spouse of the Deceased

  2. Ending Your Marriage

    1. Dissolution of Marriage (Divorce)
      1. Grounds for Divorce
      2. Procedures for Getting a Divorce
      3. Division of Assets
      4. Division of Debts
      5. Spousal Support/Alimony
      6. Child Custody and Support
        1. Child Custody
        2. Changing Residency as it Affects Child Custody
        3. Child Support
        4. Federal Child Support Laws

  3. Other Commonly Asked Questions About Divorce

    1. During the divorce proceedings, may get protection from the court against physical violence by my spouse?
    2. Does my divorce automatically take my ex-spouse out of my will?
    3. Can my ex-spouse eliminate responsibility to pay child support and spousal support by filing for bankruptcy?
    4. What happens to medical insurance coverage which my ex-spouse or deceased spouse had been providing me through his/her employment?
    5. Legal Separation
    6. Voidable Marriages
    7. Void Marriages
      1. Bigamy
      2. Incestuous Marriage in California
    8. Living Together without Marriage
      1. Rights and Responsibilities
      3. Children of an Unmarried Couple

  4. Parental Responsibility for Children

    1. Rights and Responsibilities
    2. Children's Obligations Toward Parents
    3. Adoption
      1. Requirements for Adoption
      2. Discovering the Identity of Your Natural Parent or Child
      3. Other Questions Often Asked About options
        1. What sort of financial arrangements can be made between the natural mother of a child and the child's adoptive parents?
        2. Is it possible to receive financial assistance with an adoption?
        3. Do I have any responsibility for child if I relinquish him/her for adoption by his/her stepparent?
    4. Alternative Methods of Becoming Parents
      1. Artificial Insemination
      2. Surrogate Parenting
Return to Top

CHAPTER SEVEN:
VIOLENT CRIMES COMMITTED AGAINST WOMEN AND CHILDREN

  1. Rape and Other Forms of Sexual Assault

    1. If you are attacked
      1. Active Resistance
      2. Passive Resistance
    2. Legal Definitions of Sexual Assault
      1. Rape
      2. Rape by a Spouse
      3. Rape by a Date or Ex-spouse
      4. Protecting Yourself Against Acquaintances
      5. Rape by a Foreign Device or Instrument
      6. Forced Oral Copulation
      7. Forced Sodomy
      8. Attempted Assault with Intent to Committee Rape
      9. Sexual Battery
      10. Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 1995
    3. What You Can Do if You are Sexually Assaulted
      1. The Police
      2. Rape Crisis Centers
    4. The Psychological Impact of Rape
    5. Financial Assistance is Available to Victims of Rape and Other Violent Crime
    6. The Legal Process
      1. If the Suspect is Arrested
      2. If the Suspect is Charged with Rape
      3. The Trial
    7. Precautions
      1. Protecting Yourself at Home
      2. Protecting Yourself on the Street
      3. Protecting Yourself in Your Neighborhood
      4. Protecting Yourself When Hitchhiking
    8. Stalking
      1. Advice to Stalking Victims
      2. Safety Plan
    9. Gender-Based Hate Crimes
      1. The Ralph Act
      2. The Bane Act
      3. Violence Against Women Act of 1994

  2. Domestic Violence

    1. Spousal, Date or Intimate Partner Abuse
      1. What To do if Your Husband, Date or Intimate Partner Beats You (or Your Children)
      2. Your Rights If You Have Been Attacked
        1. Battered Women's Syndrome
      3. Protective Orders that Can Be Obtained
      4. Pressing Charges
        1. Call the Police
        2. You Can Have Your Attacker Arrested
          1. Police Arrest
          2. Citizen's Arrest
        3. You Can Press Charges, Even if No Arrest Was Made or Citation Issued
      5. After An Arrest
      6. Criminal Prosecution
        1. After An Arrest
        2. The Trial
        3. Sentencing
        4. Trespass
    2. Spouse Convicted of Attempted Murder Loses Rights
    3. Civil Action
    4. Federal Firearm Offenses Relevant to Domestic Violence
    5. Written Policies by Law Enforcement Agencies Regarding mestic Violence Calls
    6. Alternatives to Criminal Prosecution
      1. Citation Hearing
      2. Civil Compromise
      3. Alternative Resolution Hearings
      4. Pre-Trial Diversion Program
    7. Questions Commonly Asked by Victims of Domestic Violence
      1. What if I decide to move out?
      2. How can I divorce my spouse?
      3. What if I am an undocumented alien and am afraid to report to the police that I have been beaten?
      4. What if my attacker is on probation or parole?
    8. Child Abuse
      1. What Is Child Abuse?
      2. Reporting Requirements
      3. The Penalty for Abusing or Neglecting a Child
      4. Who to Contact for Help
      5. If You Need Help to Stop Abusing Your Child
      6. Specific Rules to Teach Your Children
      7. Parental Kidnapping
      8. If You Were Abused as a Child
    9. Elder Abuse
Return to Top

CHAPTER EIGHT:
CHILD CARE

  1. Publicly-Subsidized Child Care and Related Services

    1. General Child Care Program
    2. Campus Child Development Programs
    3. Migrant Child Care
    4. School Age Parenting and Infant Development Program
    5. Special Programs for Children with Severe Disabilities
    6. State Preschool
    7. Alternative Payment Programs
    8. Child Protective Services
    9. Sick Child Care
    10. School Age Community Child Care Services
    11. Headstart
    12. Child Development Centers
    13. Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education Programs
    14. California Child Care Initiative Project

  2. Indirect Subsidies for Child Care

    1. State Child Care Tax Credit
    2. Federal Child Care Tax Credit

  3. Private Child Care

    1. In-Home Child Care
    2. Family Day Care Homes
    3. Private Child Care Centers
    4. Work Site Child Care
    5. Child Care Facilities in State Buildings
    6. Child Care Facilities Serving Federal Employees
    7. Safety Provisions for Child Care Facilities
    8. Trustline Registry
    9. Child Abuse Reporting Requirements
    10. California Child Care Resource & Referral Network

  4. Summary
Return to Top

CHAPTER NINE:
DIRECTORY OF SERVICES AND INFORMATION

  1. General Legal Assistance

    1. Legal Aid Societies/Neighborhood Legal Assistance/Legal Services
    2. American Civil Liberties Union
    3. Minority Legal Defense Groups
    4. California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc
    5. Law Centers
    6. Small Claims Court
    7. Lawyer Referral Services for Private Attorneys
    8. District Attorney's Office, Family Support Unit
    9. California Women Lawyers Association
    10. Divorce: Alternative Services

  2. General Information for Women and Referral Services

    1. Commissions on the Status of Women
    2. Law School Women's Organizations
    3. Women's Centers at Local Colleges and Universities
    4. National Organization for Women (NOW)
    5. Other Women's Groups

  3. Organizations That Deal with Specific Issues

    1. Battered Women's Shelters
    2. Other Services for Victims of Domestic Violence in Alameda County
    3. Other Services for Victims of Domestic Violence in San Francisco County
    4. Rape Crisis Centers
    5. Victims of Violent Crimes

  4. Other Helpful Numbers

    1. Counseling and Services
    2. Child Abuse/Runaway Hotlines
    3. Child Care
    4. Education
    5. Employment
    6. Health
    7. AIDS
    8. Housing
    9. Insurance
    10. Public Assistance
      11.

    INTRODUCTION

    Return to Top

    Attorney General's Home Page | Women's Rights Home Page | A Message to the People
    Acknowledgements | Introduction