Newsom Vetoes California’s First-in-Nation Ban on Caste Bias

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed a bill to ban discrimination based on caste in employment, housing, and education, after the measure drew both vocal support and heated opposition from the state’s South Asian population.

The legislation (SB 403) would have defined the state’s existing protections against ancestry discrimination to include “lineal descent, heritage, parentage, caste, or any inherited social status.” It would have made California the first state in the US to specifically treat caste as a protected category in its civil rights law, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Seattle became the first US city to specifically ban ...