California Sexual Harassment Laws

What Is Sexual Harassment in California?

Under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that either: (1) creates a hostile, offensive, or intimidating work environment, or (2) results in an employment decision being conditioned on submission to sexual conduct.

California's standard is broader than federal law in several key ways:

• Covers all employers regardless of size, even employers with just 1 employee
• A single severe incident can constitute harassment (no need for a pattern)
• Harassers can be held personally liable, not just the employer
• Covers non-employees too (clients, vendors, contractors)
• No damages cap, you can recover full emotional distress and punitive damages

California Sexual Harassment Laws at a Glance

Workplace sexual harassment in California is governed mainly by the Fair Employment and Housing Act. Other state and federal statutes add the rules on training, settlements, arbitration and deadlines. The table lists each law and what it does, and the sections further down this page explain each one in plain English. If you would like to talk through your own situation instead of reading statutes, speak with a California sexual harassment lawyer at our firm.

Types of Sexual Harassment

California law recognizes two distinct types of sexual harassment, each with different legal standards:

Examples of Sexual Harassment

Who Can Be a Harasser, and Who Can Be Harassed

Sexual harassment under FEHA covers a wide range of workplace relationships. The harasser does not have to be your direct supervisor, and the victim does not have to be a woman.

Employer Liability for Sexual Harassment

Under FEHA, employers can be held liable for sexual harassment in different ways depending on who did the harassing:

Supervisor Harassment, Strict Liability

If a supervisor harasses an employee, the employer is strictly liable. This means the employer cannot escape liability by claiming it didn't know about the harassment or had a good anti-harassment policy. The employer is automatically responsible.

Coworker or Third-Party Harassment, Negligence Standard

If a coworker, client, or vendor harasses an employee, the employer is liable if it knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

Employer Duties Under FEHA

• Maintain a written anti-harassment policy and distribute it to all employees
• Provide sexual harassment prevention training, 2 hours for supervisors, 1 hour for all employees, every 2 years (SB 1343)
• Conduct a prompt, thorough, and impartial investigation of all complaints
• Take immediate corrective action to stop the harassment
• Protect the complainant from retaliation

How to Report Sexual Harassment

You have the right to report sexual harassment through internal channels, external agencies, or both. Here are the steps most employment attorneys recommend:

Filing a Sexual Harassment Claim in California

Deadlines

What to Expect

After you file a CRD complaint, the agency may: (1) investigate and attempt to mediate a resolution, (2) issue an immediate right-to-sue notice so you can proceed to court, or (3) close the case if it lacks jurisdiction. Most harassment cases resolve through negotiated settlement before trial.

Damages & Remedies

California has no cap on damages in sexual harassment cases. Depending on the severity of the harassment and the employer's conduct, you may recover:

The Fair Employment and Housing Act: Government Code Section 12940

The Fair Employment and Housing Act, often shortened to FEHA, is the main California law on workplace sexual harassment. Three parts of Government Code section 12940 do most of the work. Subdivision (j) bans harassment, subdivision (k) requires prevention, and subdivision (h) bans retaliation.

Subdivision (j): The Ban on Harassment

Subdivision (j) makes it unlawful to harass an employee, an applicant, an unpaid intern or volunteer, or a person providing services under a contract. The ban is not limited to people on the payroll. The statute names contractors, unpaid interns and volunteers alongside employees.

The statute also settles four questions in the worker's favor:

• Small employers are covered. For harassment claims only, "employer" means any person regularly employing one or more persons, or regularly receiving the services of one or more contractors. The rest of the Act generally applies at five or more employees. The harassment definition excludes a religious association or corporation not organized for private profit, with an exception found in Government Code section 12926.2.
• Sexual desire is not required. The statute says: "Sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire." Harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment, and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
• You do not have to lose pay or a job. The statute says: "Loss of tangible job benefits shall not be necessary in order to establish harassment."
• The harasser is personally liable. An employee is personally liable for "any harassment prohibited by this section that is perpetrated by the employee", whether or not the employer knew about the conduct.

How the Statute Assigns Responsibility to the Employer

The test for the employer depends on who did the harassing.

"Supervisor" has a statutory meaning. Under Government Code section 12926, a supervisor is a person with the authority to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward or discipline other employees, or the responsibility to direct them, adjust their grievances, or effectively recommend that action, when using that authority requires independent judgment. The job title does not decide the question. A "lead" who assigns work and writes evaluations may be a supervisor.

Strict liability has one limit, called the avoidable consequences doctrine. In State Department of Health Services, the California Supreme Court held that an employer can reduce the damages it owes by proving three things: the employer took reasonable steps to prevent and correct workplace harassment, the employee unreasonably failed to use those measures, and reasonable use of them would have prevented at least some of the harm. The doctrine reduces damages. It does not erase the employer's liability. This is one reason a written report to the employer matters. See how to document workplace harassment.

Personal liability has a limit too. A supervisor who did not take part in the harassment is not personally liable merely for failing to stop it. Fiol v. Doellstedt (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 1318. The employer can still be liable in that situation.

Companies sometimes argue that someone else was the employer. In Patterson v. Domino's Pizza, LLC (2014) 60 Cal.4th 474, the California Supreme Court held that a franchisor is not the employer of a franchisee's workers unless the franchisor kept or assumed a general right of control over day-to-day employment matters.

Subdivision (k): The Duty to Prevent

Subdivision (k) makes it unlawful for an employer to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring. The regulation and the training statute described in the prevention section of this page spell out what those steps are.

One limit applies. Under the Civil Rights Council's regulation, California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 11023, there is no stand-alone private claim for failure to prevent. A worker who sues under subdivision (k) must also prove the underlying harassment, discrimination or retaliation. Failure to prevent is a second claim added to a harassment case. It does not replace one.

Subdivision (h): The Ban on Retaliation

Subdivision (h) makes it unlawful to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against a person for opposing practices forbidden by the Act, or for filing a complaint, testifying or assisting in a proceeding under the Act. The retaliation section of this page covers it in detail.

SB 1300 and Government Code Section 12923: How Courts Must Apply the Law

Government Code section 12923 was added to the Act by SB 1300 and has been in effect since January 1, 2019. The section does not create a new claim. It is the Legislature's instruction to courts on how to apply the harassment law, set out in five declarations.

What Section 12923 Did Not Change

A worker still has to prove harassment because of sex, and the reasonable person test in subdivision (a) still applies. The California Supreme Court has said the Act is not a civility code. In Lyle v. Warner Brothers Television Productions (2006) 38 Cal.4th 264, coarse sexual talk in a comedy writers' room that was not aimed at the plaintiff was held not to be harassment on those facts.

The California Supreme Court has since confirmed that one incident can be enough. In Bailey v. San Francisco District Attorney's Office (2024) 16 Cal.5th 611, the court held that a single severe incident by a coworker can be actionable. That case involved a racial slur. The same statute governs sexual harassment.

Favoritism and Conduct Aimed at Others

Two California decisions reach workers who were not the direct target. In Miller v. Department of Corrections (2005) 36 Cal.4th 446, the California Supreme Court held that widespread sexual favoritism can create a hostile work environment. In Fisher v. San Pedro Peninsula Hospital (1989) 214 Cal.App.3d 590, the Court of Appeal set out the elements of a hostile environment claim under the Act and held that a worker who was not directly targeted must have personally witnessed the conduct in the immediate work environment.

Related pages: hostile work environment, quid pro quo harassment, the different types of sexual harassment in California, harassment by customers and clients, when to talk to a lawyer, and how long a case takes.

Prevention Laws: Written Policy, Training and Posters

California law tells employers what they must do before anyone complains. The rules come from a regulation and three statutes.

The Written Policy: Title 2, Section 11023

The Civil Rights Council's regulation, California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 11023, requires a written harassment, discrimination and retaliation prevention policy. Among other things, the policy must:

• Create a complaint process that keeps complaints confidential to the extent possible. The policy may not promise complete confidentiality.
• Give employees a way to complain that does not require going to their immediate supervisor.
• Require supervisors to pass complaints on.
• Provide for a fair, timely and thorough investigation by qualified personnel.
• Provide for remedial measures if misconduct is found.
• State that employees will not be retaliated against for complaining or for taking part in an investigation.

Compare this list with how your employer handled your complaint. See what happens after you report harassment to HR and what to do when HR did nothing.

Training: Government Code Section 12950.1

Under Government Code section 12950.1, employers with five or more employees must provide sexual harassment prevention training.

Workers hired for less than six months, such as seasonal and temporary employees, must be trained sooner: within 30 calendar days after the hire date or within 100 hours worked, whichever comes first.

The content is regulated too. Prevention of abusive conduct must be a component of the training, and the training must include harassment based on gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.

Two sentences in the statute matter in a lawsuit. A claim that the training did not reach a particular individual "shall not in and of itself result in the liability of any employer". In the other direction, "an employer's compliance with this section does not insulate the employer from liability". Holding the training does not, by itself, protect an employer that allowed harassment.

Government Code section 12950.2 adds that an employer "may also provide bystander intervention training". That training is optional.

Posters and Information Sheets: Government Code Section 12950

Under Government Code section 12950, employers must post the Civil Rights Department's poster on discrimination in employment, which includes information on the illegality of sexual harassment, in a prominent and accessible location. Employers must also post the department's poster on transgender rights and give employees the department's sexual harassment information sheet or equivalent information.

The Civil Rights Department also publishes a Harassment Prevention Guide for California Employers, which covers prevention policies and workplace investigations.

Retaliation Laws: What Protects You After You Speak Up

Retaliation is its own violation, separate from the harassment. In the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's data for fiscal years 2018 through 2021, 43.5 percent of sexual harassment charges also alleged retaliation. Several California laws address it.

Government Code Section 12940(h)

It is unlawful for an employer to discharge, expel or otherwise discriminate against a person because the person opposed practices forbidden by the Act, filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in a proceeding under the Act.

The leading case is Yanowitz v. L'Oreal USA, Inc. (2005) 36 Cal.4th 1028. The California Supreme Court decided two points that shape retaliation cases today:

• You do not have to be right about the law. A reasonable, good-faith belief that the conduct was unlawful is enough, even if the conduct is later found to be lawful.
• Retaliation is more than firing. It covers employer actions that, taken together, materially affect the terms, conditions or privileges of employment.

In Bailey v. San Francisco District Attorney's Office (2024) 16 Cal.5th 611, the court added that obstructing a worker's complaint can itself be retaliation.

When Quitting Counts as Being Fired

A resignation can be treated as a termination under the constructive discharge rule from Turner v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc. (1994) 7 Cal.4th 1238. The employer must have intentionally created or knowingly permitted working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person in the employee's position would be compelled to resign. Get legal advice before you resign. See can I quit because of harassment.

Labor Code Sections 1102.5 and 232.5

A harassment report may also disclose a legal violation protected by Labor Code section 1102.5, the state whistleblower law.

Labor Code section 232.5 protects talking about the job itself. An employer may not require an employee, as a condition of employment, to refrain from disclosing information about working conditions. An employer may not require a waiver of that right, and may not discharge, formally discipline or otherwise discriminate against an employee who discloses information about working conditions. The section does not permit an employee to disclose proprietary information, trade secrets or privileged information.

The Employer's Own Policy

The written policy required by title 2, section 11023 must itself state that employees will not be retaliated against for complaining or for taking part in an investigation.

Read more about workplace retaliation and whether you can be fired for complaining about sexual harassment.

Settlement, Confidentiality and Arbitration Laws

California and federal law limit three tools that were used to keep harassment quiet: secret settlements, gag clauses and forced arbitration.

The Sentence Every Nondisparagement Clause Needs

Under Government Code section 12964.5, a nondisparagement or similar provision that restricts what an employee can say about the workplace must include language in substantially this form:

"Information about unlawful acts in the workplace" includes information about harassment or discrimination, or any other conduct the employee has reasonable cause to believe is unlawful.

What Section 12964.5 Still Allows

• A general release in a separation agreement. A general release or waiver of all claims is still allowed in a separation agreement if it is otherwise lawful and valid.
• Signing before the five business days are up. You may sign sooner if your choice is knowing and voluntary and was not induced by fraud, misrepresentation, or a threat to withdraw or alter the offer.
• A negotiated settlement of a filed claim. The section does not apply to a negotiated settlement agreement that resolves a claim under the Act filed in court, before an administrative agency, in an alternative dispute resolution forum, or through the employer's internal complaint process. "Negotiated" means the agreement is voluntary, deliberate and informed, gives you something of value, and you had notice and an opportunity to retain an attorney or were represented by one. A settlement of a claim filed in court or with an agency remains subject to Code of Civil Procedure section 1001.

The testimony rule is in Civil Code section 1670.11, and the federal arbitration rule is in 9 U.S.C. section 402. For how these rules play out in practice, see sexual harassment settlements in California, confidentiality in a sexual harassment case and sexual harassment and arbitration.

Sexual Harassment Outside Employment: Civil Code Section 51.9

The Fair Employment and Housing Act covers work. Civil Code section 51.9 covers sexual harassment inside a business, service or professional relationship. The statute lists examples: a physician, psychotherapist, dentist, attorney, real estate agent, accountant, banker, landlord, property manager, teacher, elected official, lobbyist, director or producer, and any substantially similar relationship. SB 224, in effect since 2019, added investors to the list.

A claim under section 51.9 has three parts:

• A relationship. A business, service or professional relationship existed, or the defendant claimed to be able to help you establish one.
• The conduct. The defendant made sexual advances, solicitations, sexual requests or demands for sexual compliance, or engaged in other verbal, visual or physical conduct of a sexual nature or of a hostile nature based on gender. The conduct was unwelcome and pervasive or severe.
• Harm. You suffered economic loss or disadvantage, or personal injury. Personal injury includes emotional distress and the violation of a statutory or constitutional right.

Damages are awarded under Civil Code section 52, subdivision (b). The $25,000 civil penalty found in that subdivision does not apply to section 51.9 claims.

Sexual Assault: Code of Civil Procedure Section 340.16

When harassment includes a sexual assault, a separate and longer deadline can apply to the civil claim for the assault. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16, for a sexual assault suffered as an adult, the deadline is the later of ten years from the last act or three years from discovering an injury caused by it. The statute has its own conditions, so have a lawyer confirm how it applies to your dates. Sexual assault is also a crime and can be reported to the police. See sexual assault at work in California.

Federal Law: Title VII Compared With California Law

Federal law reaches sexual harassment through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (1986) 477 U.S. 57, the United States Supreme Court held that hostile environment sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII. A California worker can be covered by both laws at once. The two differ on employer size and on deadlines.

On employer size and on both deadlines, the California law gives a worker more room than the federal law. California also places no cap on emotional distress damages under the Act.

The California Deadline Statutes

Government Code section 12960 gives three years to file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department. Government Code section 12965 gives one year to sue after the right-to-sue notice. A Civil Rights Department complaint and a right-to-sue notice are the only steps the Act requires before a lawsuit.

Section 12965 also covers attorney fees. A court may award attorney fees to a worker who wins. An employer that wins recovers fees only if the case was frivolous, unreasonable or groundless.

Three court-made rules can move the deadline, and none of them should be counted on without legal advice:

• Continuing violation. Under Richards v. CH2M Hill, Inc. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 798, older conduct can be part of the claim when the acts are similar in kind, reasonably frequent, and have not yet become permanent.
• When the clock starts on a denied promotion. Under Pollock v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services, Inc. (2021) 11 Cal.5th 918, the deadline for a claim based on a denied promotion starts when the employee knows or reasonably should know of the decision.
• Equitable tolling. Under McDonald v. Antelope Valley Community College District (2008) 45 Cal.4th 88, the deadline can be tolled while an employee pursues an internal remedy.

Full detail is on our page about the sexual harassment statute of limitations in California.

Court Decisions That Shaped California Sexual Harassment Law

Statutes set the rules and court decisions show how the rules are applied. These are the decisions cited most often on this page, in date order.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

The statutes, regulations and agency materials discussed on this page are linked here. Court decisions are cited by name and citation in the text.

• Government Code section 12940: harassment, prevention and retaliation
• Government Code section 12923: the standard for harassment claims
• Government Code section 12926: definitions, including supervisor
• Government Code section 12950: posters and information sheets
• Government Code section 12950.1: training
• Government Code section 12950.2: bystander intervention training
• Government Code section 12960: the deadline to file with the Civil Rights Department
• Government Code section 12964.5: releases, nondisparagement and separation agreements
• Government Code section 12965: the deadline to sue, and attorney fees
• Code of Civil Procedure section 1001: settlement confidentiality
• Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16: the deadline for sexual assault claims
• Civil Code section 51.9: harassment in business, service and professional relationships
• Civil Code section 1670.11: the right to testify
• Labor Code section 232.5: disclosing working conditions
• Labor Code section 1102.5: whistleblower protection
• California Code of Regulations, title 2, section 11023: the written prevention policy
• 9 U.S.C. section 402: arbitration of sexual harassment and sexual assault disputes
• California Civil Rights Department: the complaint process
• California Civil Rights Department: Harassment Prevention Guide for California Employers, March 2025
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: time limits for filing a charge
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Sexual Harassment in Our Nation's Workplaces