California Churches Fight AB 1803 Hate Speech Workplace Training Christian groups and pastors in California are pushing back against a new hate speech instruction in workplace harassment training under AB 1803, arguing it forces employers to promote a government-approved view on sexual orientation and gender identity. The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2028. Christian churches and the California Family Council are pushing back against a new hate speech instruction in workplace harassment training that they say forces employers to promote a government-approved view on issues like sexual orientation and gender identity. The measure, AB 1803, was signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom last month and takes effect Jan. 1, 2028. Under the law, employers with five or more employees who already fall under the state's harassment-training rules must add instruction on recognizing, reporting and addressing workplace speech that vilifies, humiliates or incites hatred based on protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender identity.The law does not create a separate training requirement; employers are expected to fold the new material into existing programs. Traditional Christian churches that base their teachings on biblical passages stating that homosexual acts or same-sex relationships are contrary to biblical teaching are not explicitly exempt from the new training requirements. Pastors and conservative groups warn that traditional Christian teachings on sexuality, marriage and gender could become entangled in workplace disputes over what counts as hateful speech.California Family Council Warns of Ideological RetrainingCalifornia has gotten excited about their ability to retrain the entire population regarding what they believe about gender and sexual orientation, said Greg Burt, vice president of the California Family Council. But California's Civil Rights Department put together some curriculum that is explicitly condemning anyone who has a conservative view, he told Fox News Digital.Burt agrees with Dr. Paul Chappell, pastor of Lancaster Baptist Church in Lancaster, California, who 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. Burt also told the California Assembly Labor and Employment Committee last March during a hearing on the bill that you cannot regulate what you cannot define.Ambiguity in Gender Identity Fuels ControversyBurt said an addition made several years ago to sexual harassment training, which included harassment based on gender identity and sexual orientation, left people wondering what it means to discriminate against or harass someone on those grounds. That uncertainty, he said, led California's Civil Rights Department to develop its latest training curriculum. The training module includes a slide defining gender identity as each person's internal understanding of their gender.According to the state, that understanding may be male, female, a combination of male and female, neither male nor female, or nonbinary. Burt emphasized that while most people can agree that certain speech is hateful and wrong, the government's power to define hate could expand beyond clear-cut cases and begin targeting disfavored viewpoints. He also argued that the training hinges on a term, hate speech, that has no clear legal definition in state law.The legislation contains no explicit exemption for matters of conscience. Burt warned the training could put employers in the position of deciding whether to discipline employees over their religious beliefs, potentially exposing employers and employees to lawsuits if they fail to act. The requirements could affect employers and workers in many state-licensed industries.Opposition from Religious Leaders and LGBTQ+ AdvocatesEquality California, the state's leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organization and a supporter of the legislation, has argued that existing harassment training contains a significant gap that leaves employees vulnerable to hostile work environments. Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, who has also spoken out against the legislation, offered a strong criticism of the measure.So, historically, in the state of California, for certainly the last 16 years, the California state legislature has been very aggressive in crafting special protections and special legislation, Hibbs said. The dispute now centers on whether the new curriculum crosses from anti-harassment instruction into compelled speech that conflicts with the doctrines of traditional churches across the state.