> No, political affiliation is not a protected class in California. A bill that would have made it one failed to pass the state legislature in 2021. [0]

Regardless, it shouldn’t be.

[0] https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/blog/is-political-affiliation-a...

From the link you posted:

"California employment law forbids political retaliation in the workplace. This includes terminating or retaliating against workers for their political beliefs or activity."

So yes, political affiliation absolutely has strong protections in CA, even if it does not fit a highly technical, but irrelevant, definition which is "protected class".

And the central point is that yes political affiliation has strong protections in CA.

The OP is arguably correct in that they used the words "protected status" which is not a technical term anyway.

No, political affiliation does not have strong protections in CA, and OP is not arguably correct, as "protected status" is absolutely a term of art in law, and does not apply here.

Besides, even if that were true, it's morally wrong and should not be true, as you can (and should) change your political affiliation at will, including in response to negative feedback from your community.