Sacramento, California

Sexual Harassment Lawyer in Sacramento

State agencies, hospitals, hotels, and private offices, the law is on your side.

It usually starts small. A comment you weren't expecting, a look that lasted too long, a hand on the back. Then it doesn't stop. Or it gets worse. Or you say something and the schedule changes, the assignments change, the performance review changes.

Sacramento is a state-government town, but sexual harassment doesn't pick by sector. State-agency employees get pushed out after reporting a manager. Nurses at downtown hospitals deal with senior physicians who don't take no for an answer. Servers at downtown hotels and restaurants find their tips depend on the manager who won't stop touching them. The law treats each of these the same way: severe or pervasive conduct based on sex, attributable to the employer.

You're protected. By California law and federal law. Visit our Sacramento office at 400 Capitol Mall Suite 444A, Sacramento, CA 95814 or call (415) 318-7920 for a free, confidential consultation.

What Is Sexual Harassment in Sacramento

Sexual harassment in Sacramento happens in the same places you go every day: the State Capitol (10th and L Streets - the seat of the California Legislature), the Governor's Office, and the dozens of state-agency headquarters across Sacramento that employ 100,000+ State of California workers (Department of General Services, DMV, EDD, CRD, DLSE, Cal/OSHA, CalPERS, CalSTRS, California Department of Justice, California Highway Patrol headquarters at 601 N. 7th Street, and many more); patient floors at the four dominant Sacramento hospital systems (Sutter Health headquartered in Sacramento with 50,000+ employees and 29% acute-care bed market share, Dignity Health/CommonSpirit with 28% market share including Mercy General/Mercy San Juan/Methodist Hospital, Kaiser Permanente with 23% market share, and UC Davis Health with 17% market share - operating the UC Davis Medical Center at 2315 Stockton Boulevard, a 653-bed academic medical center with $1.7 billion annual budget serving 33 counties); classrooms across the Sacramento City Unified School District / SCUSD (5735 47th Avenue, Serna Center - 11th-largest school district in California with 47,900 students in 81 schools) and California State University, Sacramento / Sacramento State (6000 J Street), plus the Los Rios Community College District (Sacramento City College, American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College); the Golden 1 Center (home of the Sacramento Kings, anchor of Downtown Commons / DOCO); the Sacramento International Airport (SMF) operated by Sacramento County; the Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento County Courthouse (500 G Street); the Robert T. Matsui United States Courthouse (501 I Street); and City of Sacramento offices at 915 I Street. The most common Sacramento pattern is unwanted touching, comments, or pressure from a supervisor, coworker, patient, or customer, followed by retaliation when the worker reports it.

Sacramento Industries Where Sexual Harassment Is Most Common

State of California government workers - at the State Capitol (10th and L Streets), the Governor's Office, and the dozens of state-agency headquarters across Sacramento employing approximately 100,000+ State of California workers, including the Department of General Services (DGS), DMV, EDD, CRD, DLSE, Cal/OSHA, CalPERS, CalSTRS, California Department of Justice, California Highway Patrol headquarters, and hundreds more. State employees are covered by: (1) the California Government Code section 19570 et seq. civil-service system and the State Personnel Board (SPB); (2) Skelly v. State Personnel Board (1975) 15 Cal.3d 194 pre-deprivation due-process rights; (3) FEHA (Cal. Gov. Code section 12940 et seq.); (4) the California Whistleblower Protection Act (Cal. Gov. Code section 8547 et seq.), enforced by the State Auditor's Office for state employees; (5) the State Tort Claims Act (Cal. Gov. Code sections 810-996) with a 6-month claim-filing deadline (Cal. Gov. Code section 911.2); and (6) collective bargaining agreements with multiple state employee unions (SEIU Local 1000, CAHP, CCPOA, CAPS, IUOE).
Healthcare workers at the four dominant Sacramento hospital systems - at Sutter Health (Sacramento-headquartered, 50,000+ employees, 29% acute-care bed market share, named to Forbes' America's Best Large Employers list 2026), Dignity Health/CommonSpirit (28% market share including Mercy General Hospital, Mercy San Juan Medical Center, Methodist Hospital), Kaiser Permanente (23% market share including Kaiser South Sacramento and Kaiser Roseville), and UC Davis Health (17% market share - operating the UC Davis Medical Center at 2315 Stockton Boulevard, Sacramento, CA 95817, (916) 734-2011 - a 653-bed multispecialty academic medical center with $1.7 billion annual budget, 30,000+ patients admitted/year, serving 33 counties). Covered by SB 525 healthcare worker minimum-wage schedule (Cal. Labor Code sections 1182.14, 1182.15, 1182.16), California Health and Safety Code section 1278.5 ($25,000-per-violation civil penalty for patient-safety retaliation), and CNA / SEIU-UHW collective bargaining agreements. UC Davis Medical Center employees, as employees of the Regents of the University of California, are subject to the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
K-12 education workers - at the Sacramento City Unified School District / SCUSD (5735 47th Avenue, Serna Center, PO Box 246870, Sacramento, CA 95824, (916) 643-7400 - the 11th-largest school district in California with 47,900 students in 81 schools), Twin Rivers Unified School District, Natomas Unified School District, San Juan Unified School District, and the Elk Grove Unified School District (in adjacent Elk Grove - the 4th-largest district in California). Public-school workers have pre-deprivation due-process rights under Skelly v. State Personnel Board (1975) 15 Cal.3d 194, California Whistleblower Protection Act (Cal. Gov. Code section 8547), and the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
Higher education workers - at California State University, Sacramento / Sacramento State / CSUS (6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819 - the principal four-year public university in Sacramento, state-of-California employees subject to civil-service rules and CFA collective bargaining for faculty), the Los Rios Community College District (Sacramento City College, American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College), and UC Davis (in adjacent Davis). Subject to the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
City and county government workers - at the City of Sacramento (915 I Street - charter city), the County of Sacramento with 12,000+ employees across dozens of departments (Sacramento is the county seat), the Sacramento Police Department / SPD, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office / SSO, the Sacramento Fire Department, and the California Highway Patrol (Sacramento headquarters at 601 N. 7th Street). Peace officers are covered by the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights (POBR, Cal. Gov. Code section 3300 et seq.). Subject to the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
Retail, restaurant, and consumer-services workers - along J Street, K Street, the Downtown Commons (DOCO) at the Golden 1 Center (home of the Sacramento Kings), Arden Fair Mall, Sunrise Mall, and throughout Midtown and East Sacramento. Common claims: wage and hour (off-the-clock and rounding violations under Cal. Labor Code sections 226.7, 510, 512), commission disputes (Cal. Labor Code section 2751), and sexual harassment under FEHA (Cal. Gov. Code section 12940(j)). Fast-food workers at chains with 60+ national locations earn the $20.00/hour AB 1228 floor (Cal. Labor Code section 1474).
Transportation and federal government workers - at the Sacramento International Airport (SMF - operated by Sacramento County), the Union Pacific Railroad Sacramento yard, the Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT - light rail and bus), and at the various federal agencies in Sacramento. Federal workers are covered by the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA, 5 U.S.C. section 2302), the Whistleblower Protection Act / WPA and WPEA (5 U.S.C. section 2302(b)(8)), and may file with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Federal EEO complaints go through the federal agency EEO process under 29 C.F.R. Part 1614 with a 45-day deadline. Rail workers are covered by the Federal Railroad Safety Act / FRSA (49 U.S.C. section 20109) whistleblower protection.

Sacramento Local Protections

Sacramento has no separate citywide minimum-wage, hotel-worker, fair-workweek, healthcare-worker, or paid-sick-leave ordinance beyond California state law. Sacramento is a charter city. Sacramento workers rely on the state-level floor under California Labor Code section 1182.12 ($16.90/hour effective January 1, 2026) plus industry-specific state rules including AB 1228 ($20/hour fast-food) and SB 525 (healthcare-worker tiered schedule). State of California workers in Sacramento (100,000+) are also covered by the California Civil Service Act (Cal. Gov. Code section 19570 et seq.), the California Whistleblower Protection Act (Cal. Gov. Code section 8547 et seq.), and the State Tort Claims Act (Cal. Gov. Code sections 810-996).

Sexual harassment in Sacramento is governed by FEHA (Cal. Government Code section 12940(j)), which covers any Sacramento employer with 1 or more employees for harassment claims, and by federal Title VII (15 or more employees). California also requires sexual-harassment prevention training for all employees of companies with 5 or more workers (Cal. Government Code section 12950.1).

California Law

California gives you broad statewide protection against sexual harassment. For the full statutory framework, deadlines, and how the state laws fit together, see our California employment law page and the in-depth California Sexual Harassment Guide.

What Compensation Can You Recover

California does not cap damages for sexual harassment claims. For a full breakdown of what you can recover, see the California Sexual Harassment Guide.

How to File a Sexual Harassment Claim in Sacramento

Civil employment lawsuits filed by Sacramento workers are heard at the Sacramento County Superior Court, Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento County Courthouse, 500 G Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. For agency contacts, deadlines, and the full filing process, see our California employment law page. We handle the filing process for you, Call us at (415) 318-7920 before any deadline.

Frequently Asked Questions

If a state employee is harassed by the worker's supervisor, who does a worker report to first? +

The worker's agency's EEO office is one option, and the worker's union representative is another. The California State Auditor takes whistleblower complaints from state employees at 1-800-952-5665 or auditor.ca.gov/whistleblower. A worker can also file directly with the California Civil Rights Department at ccrs.calcivilrights.ca.gov. The firm usually recommends talking to a lawyer before a worker files the internal report, because how a worker frames it affects what happens later. The California Whistleblower Protection Act (Government Code section 8547 et seq.) and Labor Code section 1102.5 both protect a worker against retaliation for reporting harassment, and SB 497 added a 90-day rebuttable presumption that an adverse action within 90 days of the worker's report was retaliatory. Don't wait. Call 1-800-371-3088.

What's the deadline for filing a sexual harassment claim in California? +

Three years for the FEHA claim (filed with the California Civil Rights Department) measured from the last act of harassment. 300 days for the Title VII claim (filed with the EEOC) when the charge is filed in California, also measured from the last act. If the worker's employer is a public entity, the State, the County, the City, a school district, there's an additional six-month government claim deadline under Government Code section 911.2 that runs alongside the CRD/EEOC clocks. The government claim deadline is the trap, because it's much shorter than the FEHA deadline and many workers don't know it exists. The firm handles the government claim, the agency charge, and the lawsuit so the deadlines don't get missed.

Can a worker sue the individual harasser, or only the employer? +

Yes, on the harassment itself. Under FEHA, individuals, supervisors, managers, coworkers, can be personally liable for harassment under Government Code section 12940(j)(3). They can't be personally liable for retaliation or discrimination claims; the California Supreme Court ruled in Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership (2008) 42 Cal.4th 1158 that retaliation claims under FEHA can only be brought against the employer. Practically, the bigger exposure is usually the employer, since the employer has the assets and is jointly liable for the harassment. But personally naming the harasser can change the dynamic of a case.

If a worker works in a hotel downtown and the worker's manager is the one harassing the worker, and the worker is afraid of losing shifts by reporting him, what should the worker do? +

California law protects a worker against exactly that. FEHA's anti-retaliation provision (Government Code section 12940(h)) and Labor Code section 1102.5 make it illegal for the worker's employer to cut the worker's shifts, demote a worker, or fire a worker because a worker complained about harassment. SB 497 added a 90-day rebuttable presumption that an adverse action within 90 days of a complaint was retaliatory, which shifts the burden to the employer to prove it wasn't. If the worker's shifts get cut, that's a separate claim on top of the harassment claim, and it usually makes the case stronger, not weaker. Call workers at 1-800-371-3088 before a worker files the internal complaint and workers'll walk through it with a worker.

Were You Sexually Harassed at Work?

Speak with a California sexual harassment lawyer today. Free confidential consultation. No fee unless you win. Call 1-800-371-3088.

Request A Free Consultation (800) 371-3088

Legal Disclaimer: This page is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Employment law is complex and fact-specific. The information on this page reflects California law as of 2026 and may change. If you believe your rights have been violated, please consult a licensed California employment attorney to evaluate your specific situation.