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SACRAMENTO — The state Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a measure that would expand a civil rights law protecting transsexuals from job and housing discrimination. 

The bill passed 4-2 Tuesday and is expected to be passed by the full Senate and signed by Gov. Gray Davis. It extends the Fair Employment and Housing Act to cover those who have undergone sex-change operations, those who are changing from one gender to another and men and women who act or dress in ways “different from that traditionally associated with a person’s sex at birth.” 

“We are all created differently but all, I hope, equally,” said Assemblyman Jackie Goldberg, D-Los Angeles, who wrote the measure. 

The California Chamber of Commerce and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association were two businesses opposed to the legislation, because of undefined terms such as “perception,” “identity,” “appearance” and “behavior.” 

“These are things that are very hard to measure,” said Willie Washington, a lobbyist with the association. “They are very hard to do objectively. We have no way of knowing what employees are thinking.” 

Goldberg has agreed to define who is responsible for notifying employers about gender status and the possibility for discrimination. 

“You can’t have someone say they are being discriminated against who never informed the employer,” Goldberg said. 

Conservative groups have labeled the legislation “the year’s most dangerous” bill, but employment lawyers say women are being harassed, demoted or fired for acting too masculine or too “aggressive” toward their male bosses. The bill would cover those women from discrimination. 

The bill would deal with the issue in much the same way is dealt with in anti-discrimination legislation. Employers don’t automatically know someone’s religion, so workers must inform their bosses when they need time to pray or what holy days they cannot work. 

About two dozen cities and states, including Rhode Island, Minnesota and Washington, D.C. have a variety of civil rights protections in place for those who do not match traditional gender traits. 

On the Net: 

http://www.assembly.ca.gov/defaulttext.asp