Sexual Harassment Lawyers in Los Angeles

Short answer: California law prohibits sexual harassment by supervisors, coworkers, and even customers. It applies to employers of every size, and the harasser can be personally liable. An employer is automatically responsible for harassment by a supervisor. For harassment by a coworker or customer, it’s responsible if it knew or should have known and didn’t act promptly. A single serious incident can be enough. You generally have three years to file with the Civil Rights Department.

Harassment cases are personal, and many people wait a long time before talking to anyone. You don’t need to have reported it perfectly, kept every message, or been fired to have rights. Below we explain how California law defines harassment and how these cases work.

What Counts as Sexual Harassment in California?

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (Gov. Code § 12940(j)) recognizes two main forms.

Quid Pro Quo Harassment

This is when a job benefit depends on accepting sexual advances, or refusing them leads to a penalty. Examples include a supervisor suggesting a promotion depends on a date, or cutting your shifts after you turned them down. One incident is enough. Read more: what is quid pro quo harassment?

Hostile Work Environment

This is unwelcome conduct based on sex that is severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of your work. In 2019, California made clear (Gov. Code § 12923) that:

• A single incident can be enough if it’s serious
• You don’t have to show your work suffered, only that the conduct made it harder to do your job
• A remark can count as evidence even if it wasn’t tied to a specific decision or was made by someone who didn’t make decisions about you; courts can’t dismiss it as a “stray remark”
• Harassment doesn’t have to be motivated by sexual desire, and it can come from someone of the same sex

Common examples include sexual comments or jokes, comments about your body, unwanted touching, explicit images or messages, repeated requests for dates, and gender-based insults. See how to prove a hostile work environment and types of sexual harassment at work.

Who Is Responsible

• Supervisors: the employer is strictly liable for harassment by a supervisor, whether or not it knew.
• Coworkers: the employer is liable if it knew or should have known and didn’t take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
• Customers, clients, and vendors: the same standard applies to harassment by non-employees.
• The harasser personally: unlike most employment claims, the individual harasser can be sued personally.

Harassment protections apply to employers with even one employee, and they cover applicants, unpaid interns, volunteers, and contractors. Employers with five or more employees also have a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment, including required training: two hours for supervisors and one hour for other employees, every two years.

Retaliation for Reporting Is Illegal

It’s unlawful to punish you for complaining about harassment, supporting a coworker’s complaint, or taking part in an investigation. Retaliation includes firing, demotion, schedule cuts, exclusion, and bad references. It’s a separate claim and is often easier to prove than the harassment itself. If you were pushed out, see wrongful termination.

Reports of sexual harassment made in good faith are also protected from defamation lawsuits by the person you reported.

Forced Arbitration and Confidentiality

• Arbitration: under the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (2022), you can generally choose to bring a sexual harassment claim in court even if you signed an arbitration agreement. See sexual harassment and forced arbitration.
• Settlements: once a harassment claim has been filed in court or with an agency, California generally bars settlement terms that keep the factual information about it secret. You can ask to keep your own identity confidential.

What to Do If You’re Being Harassed

1. Write it down. Keep a private log with dates, what was said or done, and who saw it. Store it somewhere other than a work device.
2. Save messages. Screenshot texts, DMs, and social media messages you received.
3. Report it in writing to HR or a manager, following your handbook’s policy if there is one. An email creates a record of the date and what you told them.
4. Identify witnesses and coworkers who experienced the same thing.
5. Take care of yourself. Talking to a doctor or therapist helps, and those records can also document the harm.
6. Talk to a lawyer before you quit or sign anything.

Deadlines

File a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department within three years of the harassment. When harassment continued over time, earlier conduct can often be included as part of the same pattern. After the CRD issues a right-to-sue notice, you generally have one year to file in court. Our article on how long a sexual harassment case takes explains what happens after filing.

What You Can Recover

• Economic damages: lost wages, benefits, and future earnings if you were fired, demoted, or forced to quit
• Emotional distress damages for anxiety, humiliation, sleeplessness, and other harm, which FEHA doesn’t cap
• Punitive damages when a company officer, director, or managing agent knew and allowed the harassment, or acted with malice or oppression
• Attorney’s fees and costs

How Starpoint Law Handles Sexual Harassment Cases

We treat these cases with discretion from the first call. Senior Litigation Attorney Ryan Riddles focuses on sexual harassment and retaliation cases, after years defending employers against them. Attorney Danielle Riddles has represented employees in harassment and discrimination cases for more than a decade. Consultations are free and confidential, and there are no attorney fees unless we recover money for you.

Serving Employees Across Los Angeles County

You can meet with us at either office, or by phone or video:

• Century City: 1801 Century Park East, 24th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90067
• Sherman Oaks: 15233 Ventura Blvd., PH16, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403

We represent employees facing harassment throughout Los Angeles County, including in Beverly Hills, Encino, Glendale, Hollywood, Long Beach, Pasadena, the San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, and Westwood.

Discrimination, harassment, and retaliation complaints go to the California Civil Rights Department, which accepts them online and by phone. Federal charges go to the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office in the Roybal Federal Building downtown. Our clients’ cases are usually filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, or in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California when federal claims are involved.

Our Sherman Oaks Office

Related Guides

• Hostile Work Environment in California – How Do I Prove it?
• Types of Sexual Harassment at Work in Los Angeles
• What is Quid Pro Quo in California?
• How Long Does a Sexual Harassment Case Take?
• Sexual Harassment and Forced Arbitration in California: Your Right to Go to Court Under the EFAA
• Can Your Employer Force You Into Arbitration in California? What 2026 Court Decisions Say

Sexual Harassment FAQ

Can one incident count as sexual harassment?

Yes. Under Gov. Code § 12923, a single incident can create a hostile work environment if it’s serious enough, such as unwanted touching or a sexual threat. Quid pro quo harassment only ever needs one incident.

Can I sue the person who harassed me, not just the company?

Yes. California makes the harasser personally liable under FEHA. Many cases name both the company and the individual.

What if I never reported it to HR?

You may still have a claim. The employer is strictly liable for a supervisor’s harassment whether or not you reported it, though your damages can be reduced if you unreasonably failed to use a complaint process that would have stopped it. For a coworker’s harassment, the question is whether the employer knew or should have known.

I signed an arbitration agreement. Do I have to arbitrate?

Often not. The federal Ending Forced Arbitration Act generally lets you choose court for sexual harassment and sexual assault claims, even with a signed arbitration agreement.

If you’re dealing with harassment at work, call us at (310) 424-9971 or send us a message for a free, confidential consultation.