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CA Forcing Department Stores To Have Gender Neutral Children Section

California Attorney Rob Bonta has asked consumers to report departmental stores without gender-neutral children sections during the holiday season. The reported stores will incur a fine of $250 for the first offense and $500 for repeat “offenders.”

“Does your department store have a gender-neutral children section?” Bonta asked. “As of January 1, 2024, large retail department stores that sell childcare items or toys must maintain a gender-neutral section for these items.”

Consumers can report the stores by taking pictures and submitting complaints about stores that have failed to comply.

The initiative is part of the state’s law under Assembly Bill 1084 in 2021, which took effect in 2024. The regulation requires department stores with at least 500 employees in California to avoid separating children’s products based on gender.

The ambiguous law requires the stores to maintain a “reasonable selection” of items in the gender-neutral children sections but does not specify which items qualify.

According to AG Bonta, the measure would prevent department stores from engaging in “gender-based pricing discrimination and reduces the imposition of gender stereotypes on children.”

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