Sexual Harassment
No one should have to put up with sexual harassment at work. Yet it remains one of the most common and underreported employment law violations in California. Sexual harassment can come from a supervisor, a coworker, a client, or anyone else in the workplace, and it can affect employees of any gender.
It might be unwanted physical contact, explicit comments, requests for sexual favors, or a work environment so saturated with inappropriate behavior that it becomes impossible to do your job. California law gives employees strong protections against sexual harassment, and when employers fail to prevent it or look the other way, they can be held liable.
Sexual Harassment - FAQ
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes of limitations and legal rights can vary based on specific facts and circumstances. You should not rely on this information without consulting a qualified attorney about your particular situation.
What are the three types of harassment?
In the legal context, harassment is generally broken down into three categories.
Quid pro quo harassment. This happens when someone in a position of authority conditions a job benefit on sexual favors. For example, a supervisor tells an employee they’ll get a promotion if they go on a date with them, or threatens to fire them if they don’t comply with sexual demands. The key element is that a tangible job action, like hiring, firing, promotion, or demotion, is tied to the employee’s response to the unwelcome conduct. Even a single incident of quid pro quo harassment can be enough to support a claim.
Hostile work environment harassment. This occurs when unwelcome conduct based on sex is severe enough or frequent enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would find intimidating, hostile, or abusive. It doesn’t have to involve a supervisor, and it doesn’t require a single dramatic event. A pattern of inappropriate jokes, comments, touching, or displays of sexual material can all contribute to a hostile environment. Courts look at the totality of the circumstances, including the frequency of the conduct, its severity, whether it was physically threatening or humiliating, and whether it interfered with the employee’s ability to do their job.
Third-party harassment. This is a form of hostile work environment harassment where the harasser is not an employee of the company but someone the employee has to interact with as part of their job, such as a customer, vendor, client, or contractor. California law holds employers responsible for third-party harassment if the employer knew or should have known about it and failed to take appropriate corrective action.
Can I sue someone for sexually harassing me?
Yes. California law gives employees the right to file a lawsuit against both the harasser and the employer in many situations.
Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, or FEHA, employers with five or more employees can be held liable for sexual harassment in the workplace. Individual harassers, particularly supervisors, can also be named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Before filing a lawsuit, you typically need to file a complaint with California’s Civil Rights Department, or CRD. You can request an immediate right-to-sue notice, which allows you to bypass the investigation process and go directly to court.
Federal law also prohibits sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which applies to employers with 15 or more employees. Under Title VII, you would file with the EEOC before pursuing a federal lawsuit.
Whether you pursue your claim under state or federal law, or both, depends on the specifics of your case.
What kind of proof do you need for harassment?
You don’t need a single piece of slam-dunk evidence to prove harassment. Most successful cases are built on a combination of different types of evidence that together tell a convincing story.
Written communications are among the most valuable forms of evidence. Save every email, text message, direct message, or note that contains inappropriate comments, sexual references, or anything that documents the harasser’s behavior. Screenshots are important because messages can be deleted.
Your own written account of what happened is also important. Keep a journal or log that records each incident with the date, time, location, what was said or done, and who else was present. Write entries as close to the time of the incident as possible so the details are fresh.
Witness testimony can strengthen your case significantly. If coworkers saw or heard the harassment, or if others experienced similar treatment, their accounts corroborate your version of events.
Performance records and employment documents can show that your work was satisfactory before the harassment began and that any negative changes in your employment status coincided with the harassment or your reporting of it.
Medical or therapy records may support your claim for emotional distress damages. If you sought treatment for anxiety, depression, or other psychological effects of the harassment, those records are relevant.
Physical evidence matters too. If the harasser left notes, gifts, photos, or any physical items, keep them in a safe place.
Don’t assume you don’t have enough evidence. Many employees are surprised by how much they actually have once they sit down with an attorney and go through everything. And the discovery process during litigation can uncover additional evidence from the employer’s own records.
What do I do if someone is sexually harassing me?
If you’re being sexually harassed at work, here’s what you should do.
Tell the harasser to stop if you feel safe doing so. Make it clear that the behavior is unwelcome. This isn’t legally required, but it removes any ambiguity about whether the conduct was wanted.
Report the harassment to your employer. Follow your company’s internal complaint process, which typically involves notifying HR or a supervisor. Make the complaint in writing if possible so there’s a record. If the harasser is your supervisor, report to their supervisor or directly to HR.
Document everything. Write down what happened, when it happened, where, who was involved, and who witnessed it. Save any relevant messages, emails, photos, or other evidence. Keep copies of your complaint and any response you receive from the company.
Do not delete any evidence. Even if the harasser asks you to delete messages or pretend something didn’t happen, hold onto everything. That evidence could be critical to your case.
Talk to an attorney. You don’t have to wait until the situation gets worse or until you’ve been fired. An attorney can advise you on how to protect yourself, how to document what’s happening, and when to file a formal complaint with the CRD or EEOC.
Take care of yourself. Sexual harassment takes a real emotional and psychological toll. Consider talking to a therapist or counselor, and lean on people you trust outside of work.
California law prohibits your employer from retaliating against you for reporting sexual harassment. If your employer fires you, demotes you, or punishes you in any way for making a complaint, that’s a separate legal violation with its own remedies.
Are harassment cases hard to prove?
They can be, but they’re far from impossible. The challenge often comes from the fact that harassment usually happens behind closed doors or in situations where it’s one person’s word against another.
That said, California courts understand this reality. You don’t need video footage or a signed confession to win a harassment case. Courts look at the totality of the evidence, including patterns of behavior, credibility of witnesses, and whether the employer’s response was adequate.
There are a few things that can make a harassment case harder. If there are no witnesses and no written evidence, the case may come down to credibility. If the employee didn’t report the harassment internally, the employer may argue they didn’t know about it and therefore can’t be held liable, although this defense doesn’t apply when the harasser is a supervisor.
On the other hand, several factors can make a harassment case stronger. Multiple incidents over time show a pattern. Written evidence, even something as simple as a text message, is powerful. Other employees who experienced similar behavior from the same person strengthen the case considerably. Reporting the harassment and documenting the employer’s failure to act can establish employer liability.
The key takeaway is this: don’t assume your case is too weak before talking to an attorney. Many harassment cases that seem difficult on the surface turn out to have more supporting evidence than the employee initially realized.
Can you get money for being sexually harassed?
Yes. Employees who prove sexual harassment can recover several types of compensation under California law.
Lost wages and benefits cover any income you lost as a result of the harassment, whether you were fired, forced to quit, demoted, or had your hours reduced. This includes both back pay for wages already lost and front pay for future earnings if you’re unable to return to your former position.
Emotional distress damages compensate you for the psychological and emotional harm the harassment caused. California courts recognize that sexual harassment can result in anxiety, depression, fear, humiliation, loss of sleep, and damage to personal relationships. Juries have awarded substantial emotional distress damages in harassment cases, particularly when the conduct was severe or prolonged.
Punitive damages may be available if the employer acted with malice, oppression, or fraud, or if management knew about the harassment and chose to ignore it. Punitive damages are meant to punish the employer and discourage similar behavior in the future.
Attorney’s fees and litigation costs can also be recovered. California law allows the court to order the employer to pay the employee’s attorney’s fees in harassment cases, which reduces the financial burden of pursuing the claim.
The total amount depends on the severity of the harassment, the impact on your career and personal life, the strength of the evidence, and the employer’s conduct. Some harassment cases settle for tens of thousands of dollars, while others involving egregious facts or high-earning employees have resulted in settlements and verdicts in the hundreds of thousands or millions.
What things count as harassment?
Sexual harassment covers a broader range of behavior than many people realize. Here are some common examples of conduct that can qualify as harassment under California law.
Unwanted physical contact, including touching, groping, hugging, kissing, or blocking someone’s movement. Sexual comments, jokes, or innuendos, whether directed at you or made in your presence. Requests or demands for sexual favors, whether explicit or implied. Sending or showing sexually explicit images, videos, emails, or text messages. Making comments about someone’s body, appearance, or clothing in a sexual way. Staring, leering, or making sexual gestures. Asking intrusive questions about someone’s sex life or dating history. Spreading sexual rumors about a coworker. Repeatedly asking someone on a date after they’ve said no. Retaliating against someone who rejected a sexual advance or reported harassment.
Harassment doesn’t have to be sexual in nature to qualify under the law. Gender-based harassment, such as making derogatory comments about someone’s gender, ridiculing an employee for not conforming to gender stereotypes, or treating someone differently because of their gender identity, is also covered by FEHA.
A single severe incident can be enough to support a harassment claim, or a pattern of less severe behavior that adds up over time can also create liability. The legal question is whether the conduct was unwelcome, whether it was based on sex or gender, and whether it was severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment.
