Workplace Harassment Lawyer in San Jose
California workplace harassment representation for San Jose workers, protected-category harassment beyond sexual harassment. Free, confidential consultation. We represent employees only.
Harassment isn't only sexual. It's race, age, disability, religion, national origin, caste, gender identity, sexual orientation, pregnancy, and every other protected category under FEHA. The legal test is the same: severe or pervasive enough that a reasonable person in your position would find the workplace abusive.
In San Jose, common patterns differ by industry. Tech offices, hospital floors, university departments, and airport concessions each carry their own version of it.
Visit our San Jose office at 181 Devine St Suite 4, San Jose, CA 95110 or call (408) 834-4320 for a free, confidential consultation.
What Is Workplace Harassment in San Jose
FEHA prohibits harassment in any San Jose workplace based on any protected category - race, religion, disability, age (40+), national origin, ancestry, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, reproductive-health decision-making, and more (Cal. Government Code section 12940(j)). Under Cal. Government Code section 12940(j)(4), the harassment provisions apply to employers with one or more employees, much broader than the 5-employee threshold for discrimination claims. To prove a hostile-work-environment claim under Jones v. The Lodge at Torrey Pines Partnership (2008) 42 Cal.4th 1158, you must show conduct that was based on a protected category, unwelcome, and either severe or pervasive enough to alter your working conditions. A single severe incident can satisfy the standard.
San Jose Industries Where Harassment Claims Are Most Common
- Silicon Valley public-company tech workers - at the major Silicon Valley public technology companies headquartered in San Jose: Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO - 170 West Tasman Drive, leading global networking equipment company), Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE - 345 Park Avenue, leading software company), eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY - 2025 Hamilton Avenue), PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC - 5601 Great Oaks Parkway, leading data-storage technology company with 10,001+ employees), HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ), Verifone, Calyx Software, and Sage Intacct. Tech workers are covered by all standard California FEHA, Labor Code, and federal Title VII / ADA / ADEA / FMLA protections. Public-company employees are also protected by Sarbanes-Oxley (18 U.S.C. section 1514A) for accounting/securities fraud whistleblower claims and Dodd-Frank section 922 (15 U.S.C. section 78u-6) for securities-law whistleblower claims. Stay-or-pay agreements (training repayment, sign-on bonus clawback, relocation-cost clawback) are void for work performed in San Jose after January 1, 2026 under AB 692 (California Labor Code section 926). Non-competes are void under California Business and Professions Code section 16600 (with AB 1076 and SB 699 making this rule extraterritorial as of January 1, 2024).
- Healthcare workers - at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center / SCVMC (751 South Bascom Avenue, San Jose, CA 95128, (408) 885-5000 - 731-bed (574 acute) county-owned public tertiary teaching hospital affiliated with the Stanford University Medical School; the principal safety-net hospital in Santa Clara County), Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center, Good Samaritan Hospital, Regional Medical Center of San Jose, and O'Connor Hospital. 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 California Nurses Association (CNA) / SEIU-UHW collective bargaining agreements (which do not waive statutory FEHA or California Labor Code rights). SCVMC employees, as county employees, are subject to the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline.
- Higher education and K-12 workers - at San Jose State University / SJSU (1 Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192 - founding campus of the California State University system; state-of-California employees subject to civil-service rules and CFA collective bargaining), the San Jose-Evergreen Community College District (San Jose City College and Evergreen Valley College), and multiple K-12 districts including the San Jose Unified School District, East Side Union High School District (830 North Capitol Avenue, (408) 347-5000 - one of the largest high school districts in Northern California), Berryessa Union School District, Alum Rock Union School District, and Oak Grove School District. Protected by Skelly v. State Personnel Board (1975) 15 Cal.3d 194 due-process rights, California Whistleblower Protection Act (Cal. Gov. Code section 8547), and the 6-month Government Claims Act deadline (Cal. Gov. Code section 911.2).
- Public-sector and government workers - at the City of San Jose (200 East Santa Clara Street), the County of Santa Clara (San Jose is the county seat), the San Jose Police Department (SJPD), the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, the Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC - owned and operated by the City of San Jose), and the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). 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 and consumer-services workers - at Westfield Valley Fair (a super-regional shopping center on the San Jose/Santa Clara border, 1,800,000+ sq ft), Santana Row (Federal Realty's mixed-use district), Westgate Mall, The Plant San Jose, and chain retailers throughout the city. San Jose workers covered by the San Jose Minimum Wage Ordinance earn $18.45/hour effective January 1, 2026 (was $17.95/hour for 2025). The San Jose Opportunity to Work Ordinance (effective March 13, 2017) requires employers with 36 or more employees to offer additional work hours to existing qualified part-time workers before hiring new employees - stronger than California state law. Fast-food workers at chains with 60+ national locations earn the $20.00/hour AB 1228 floor (Cal. Labor Code section 1474).
- Hospitality and convention workers - at hotels around the San Jose Convention Center (150 West San Carlos Street) including the San Jose Marriott, Hilton San Jose, Westin San Jose, and dozens of smaller hotels and motels. Hospitality workers are covered by the San Jose Minimum Wage Ordinance and the Opportunity to Work Ordinance. Sexual harassment by hotel guests is covered by FEHA Cal. Gov. Code section 12940(j) (third-party harassment). Tipped restaurant and bar workers earn full San Jose minimum wage of $18.45/hour plus tips (Cal. Labor Code section 351 prohibits tip pooling abuses).
- Manufacturing and biotech workers - at Jabil Circuit, numerous semiconductor and electronics manufacturers throughout San Jose, and biotech operations. Manufacturing workers are covered by Cal/OSHA standards (Cal. Code Regs., tit. 8) and California Labor Code section 6310 (retaliation for safety reporting). Federal contractor workers have additional NDAA section 4712 whistleblower protection (41 U.S.C. section 4712). Public-company manufacturing employees also have Sarbanes-Oxley (18 U.S.C. section 1514A) and Dodd-Frank (15 U.S.C. section 78u-6) protection.
San Jose Local Protections
San Jose has its own local worker-protection ordinances. The San Jose minimum wage is $18.45/hour effective January 1, 2026 (was $17.95/hour for 2025) under the San Jose Minimum Wage Ordinance - higher than the California state floor of $16.90/hour. The San Jose Opportunity to Work Ordinance (effective March 13, 2017) requires employers with 36 or more employees to offer additional work hours to existing qualified part-time workers before hiring new employees - stronger than California state law. San Jose workers also rely on California state law including SB 525 (healthcare-worker tiered schedule - directly relevant to SCVMC, Kaiser San Jose, Good Samaritan, Regional Medical Center, and O'Connor Hospital workers) and AB 1228 ($20/hour fast-food).
California requires harassment-prevention training for all employees of companies with 5+ workers (Cal. Government Code section 12950.1).
California Law
Individual supervisors can be personally liable for FEHA harassment under Reno v. Baird (1998) 18 Cal.4th 640 (supervisors are not personally liable for discrimination, but they are for harassment). For the full California harassment framework, see our California employment law page.
What Compensation Can You Recover
California does not cap FEHA harassment damages. You may recover back pay, front pay, emotional-distress damages, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees and costs (Cal. Government Code section 12965(c)). SB 331 (Silenced No More Act) means severance agreements cannot bar you from discussing the harassment publicly. For details, see our California employment law page.
How to File a Workplace Harassment Claim in San Jose
State FEHA charges go to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), Oakland Office, 1515 Clay Street, Suite 701, Oakland, CA 94612. Federal Title VII charges go to the EEOC San Jose Local Office (Santa Clara County jurisdiction), 96 N. Third Street, Suite 250, San Jose, CA 95112. Civil suits are heard at the Santa Clara County Superior Court, Hall of Justice, 190-200 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA 95110. Call us at (408) 834-4320 before any deadline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Under FEHA the employer is responsible for harassment by non-employees - vendors, contractors, customers, hospital patients - when it knew or should have known and didn't take immediate corrective action. Document every report, every response, and every assignment that put a worker back in front of the same person.
For employers with 5 or more employees, California requires 2 hours of supervisor harassment training and 1 hour of non-supervisor training every two years (Government Code section 12950.1). A 30-minute video doesn't meet the standard. Failure to train is itself evidence of FEHA non-compliance, and it lines up with employer liability when something happens.
Yes. National-origin harassment under FEHA includes accent, ancestry, ethnicity, and perceived origin. The California Civil Rights Department has interpreted national origin and ancestry to include caste-based discrimination, and the CRD v. Cisco Systems case is a pending CRD enforcement action involving caste-based claims at Cisco's San Jose headquarters. Save voicemails, recordings (where lawful), and any written messages.
Possibly. Retaliation under FEHA doesn't require termination - schedule cuts, demotion, or denial of opportunities count. SB 497 creates a 90-day rebuttable presumption when the adverse action follows the protected activity within that window. Six months is outside the presumption, but the case isn't dead. A worker can still prove retaliation with the timing, the change in treatment, and any documents showing the decision-makers knew about the worker's complaint.
Were You Harassed at Work?
Speak with a California workplace harassment lawyer today. Free confidential consultation. No fee unless you win. Call 1-800-371-3088.
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.