Sexual Harassment at Work in California: Your Rights and Remedies

California has some of the broadest workplace harassment protections in the country. Unlike federal law, FEHA covers every California employer with one or more employees for harassment claims, allows uncapped damages, and lets you sue individual harassers personally. If you experienced unwelcome conduct at work in Los Angeles, the law gives you several paths to hold the company and the individual accountable.

The Two Forms of Workplace Sexual Harassment

California recognizes two categories under FEHA Government Code § 12940(j):

Quid pro quo: a supervisor conditions a job benefit (hiring, promotion, raise, schedule) on sexual conduct, or threatens an adverse action if the employee refuses
Hostile work environment: unwelcome conduct based on sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or pregnancy that is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive workplace

Both are illegal, and both can support the same lawsuit.

What "Severe or Pervasive" Actually Means

The bar is lower in California than under federal Title VII. Assembly Bill 2079 and the Hughes v. Pair standard make clear:

A single severe incident can support a claim (sexual assault, threats, propositions tied to job benefits)
Repeated comments, jokes, touching, or visual displays can together create a hostile environment, even when no single incident is actionable
The conduct does not have to be sexually motivated; it can be hostility based on the victim's sex, gender expression, sexual orientation, or pregnancy status
The conduct does not have to be aimed at the victim. Pervasive harassment of others in the workplace can create a hostile environment for everyone

Who Can Be Held Liable

Unlike federal law, FEHA allows individual liability against the harasser, not just the employer. That means a supervisor, manager, co-worker, or even a non-employee (vendor, customer) who harasses you in the workplace can be sued personally.

Employer liability differs by harasser:

Supervisor harassment: strict liability. The employer is automatically liable
Co-worker harassment: liability if the employer knew or should have known and failed to take immediate corrective action
Non-employee harassment: liability if the employer knew or should have known and failed to act

Damages Available Under FEHA

California sexual harassment damages are uncapped:

Back pay and benefits
Front pay
Emotional distress damages (uncapped, often the largest category)
Punitive damages against the employer and the individual harasser when the conduct involved malice, oppression, or fraud
Attorney's fees and costs for prevailing employees
Injunctive relief: court orders requiring policy changes, training, or removal of the harasser

Los Angeles County juries have returned verdicts in the millions for severe harassment cases, especially when the employer ignored prior complaints.

The Mandatory First Step: Civil Rights Department Filing

Before suing in court for FEHA harassment, you must:

File a complaint with California's Civil Rights Department within three years of the most recent harassing act
Request a Right-to-Sue notice
File the civil case within one year of receiving the notice

The administrative step is procedural, not substantive. Most experienced LA employment attorneys file and receive the Right-to-Sue notice within days to preserve the case.

Mandatory Harassment Training in California

Senate Bill 1343 requires all California employers with five or more employees to provide:

2 hours of sexual harassment training to supervisors every 2 years
1 hour to non-supervisory employees every 2 years
Training within 6 months of hire or promotion

Failure to provide training does not by itself create a claim, but it is powerful evidence of a careless workplace culture and supports punitive damages.

Confidentiality Rules and the Silenced No More Act

SB 331 (the Silenced No More Act) and AB 749 limit what employers can demand in separation or settlement agreements:

NDAs cannot bar employees from disclosing factual information about workplace harassment, discrimination, or retaliation
Employers cannot require, as a condition of employment, releases of FEHA claims that have not yet arisen
Pre-dispute mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment claims is restricted under federal law (the Ending Forced Arbitration Act, 2022)

If you signed an NDA covering harassment before SB 331 was passed, the law is unclear whether it still binds you. Talk to a lawyer before you assume you cannot speak.

What to Do Right Now

Document immediately. Write down dates, times, locations, witnesses, exact words, and your reaction. Save texts, emails, and voicemails.
Report internally through the company's harassment policy, in writing. This preserves your right to sue and triggers the employer's duty to act.
Save evidence outside company systems. Forward emails to your personal account before you lose access.
Do not sign a separation agreement or NDA without an attorney reviewing it.
Call a Los Angeles harassment attorney to file the Civil Rights Department complaint and protect the three-year deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does my employer have to have 15 employees for me to file a sexual harassment claim?

No. That is the federal Title VII threshold. California FEHA covers every employer with one or more employees for harassment claims. Even a workplace with two people qualifies.

Can I sue the harasser personally, not just the company?

Yes. FEHA allows individual liability against the harasser, regardless of the employer. The harasser can be a supervisor, co-worker, vendor, or customer.

Do I have to use the internal complaint process before I can sue?

No, but reporting in writing strengthens the case dramatically. If the employer fails to act, that failure becomes part of the claim. If you bypass the policy entirely, the employer may raise it as a defense to punitive damages.

What if the harassment happened more than three years ago?

The standard deadline is three years from the last harassing act for FEHA. The 'continuing violations' doctrine can extend that when the harassment was part of an ongoing pattern. Some federal claims and assault-based tort claims have different deadlines. Talk to an attorney.

Need a Los Angeles employment lawyer? Talk to Noble Attorneys. Free, confidential, in English, Español, or Հայերեն. Call (747) 777-5977 or send a message.