A sexual assault at work is two separate things at once. It is a crime, which the police and a prosecutor deal with. It is also an employment matter, in which your employer may answer for what it allowed, failed to prevent, or did afterward. The two run on different tracks, with different deadlines, different standards of proof and different outcomes, and you are not required to choose between them.
This page explains the employment side, which is the part we handle. If you want the immediate steps in order, read what to do after a sexual assault at work. For the detail on how criminal and civil law fit together, see sexual assault at work in California.
What counts as sexual assault at work
In civil law the relevant ideas are simpler than the criminal code. Battery is an intentional harmful or offensive touching without consent. Assault can happen with no contact at all, when someone intentionally causes you to reasonably believe that harmful or offensive contact is about to occur. Sexual battery has its own statutory definition in Civil Code section 1708.5.
Alongside those, the same conduct is almost always harassment under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act, and in a workplace that matters, because the employment claim is usually where the employer, rather than only the individual, has to answer.
Where it happened is not the test. A work trip, a conference, a client dinner, a delivery run, a site visit after hours: what matters is the connection to work, who had authority, and how it affected your job. A personal phone or a Saturday does not automatically put it outside your employment.
The criminal case and the employment case are separate
People assume the civil claim waits for the criminal one, or that without a conviction there is nothing to pursue. Neither is right.
- Different decision makers. A prosecutor decides whether to charge. You decide whether to bring an employment claim.
- Different standards. A criminal conviction requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Ordinary civil liability generally turns on what is more likely than not.
- Different outcomes. A criminal case can punish the person. It does not compensate you for lost earnings or for what the employer allowed.
- Different clocks. Your employment deadlines are running whether or not anyone is charged.
You can report to the police and pursue an employment claim. You can do one and not the other. If you have reported, keep the report number and the officer's details, and tell your lawyer what you handed over.
When the employer has to answer
This is the question that decides whether there is a real case, and the answer depends on who did it.
A supervisor or manager
Where the person who harassed you holds supervisory authority, the employer is strictly liable for the harassment. It does not matter whether anyone above them knew. The authority the company handed that person is precisely the point.
A coworker
Liability turns on knowledge and response. If the employer knew or should have known and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action, it is responsible. That is why earlier complaints, by you or by anyone else, matter so much.
A customer, client, patient or contractor
The same test. An employer is not excused because the person is not on its payroll. If it knew and left you exposed, that is its failure.
The separate failure to prevent
California also requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment from happening at all. Failing that duty is its own violation under Government Code section 12940(k). Where a company ignored warnings about a person, kept them in place, or had no usable complaint route, that history becomes central.
Workers' compensation is not the whole answer
If you were physically injured, a workers' compensation claim may cover medical treatment and some lost wages. Employers sometimes present that as the only avenue. It is not.
Harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims under the Fair Employment and Housing Act are a separate route with separate remedies, including emotional distress damages, punitive damages where the conduct justifies them, and attorney's fees. A workers' compensation file does not resolve them and should not be treated as a substitute.
If you are being steered toward one process only, that is a reason to get advice before you sign anything.
They cannot force you into private arbitration
Many workers signed an arbitration agreement on their first day without reading it, and assume it means a private process with no jury.
For sexual assault and sexual harassment disputes, federal law changed that in 2022. The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act gives the person bringing the claim the choice, at their election, of whether a pre-dispute arbitration agreement applies. If you want a court and a jury, that is available to you.
Bring the agreement to your first meeting anyway, along with anything it refers to. It still matters for any other claims you may have, and the surrounding terms are worth reading.
The deadlines
| Step | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint to the Civil Rights Department | Three years from the unlawful act | Required before a FEHA lawsuit. Does not pause while an internal or criminal process runs. |
| Suing after a state right to sue notice | One year | The clock starts with the notice. |
| Charge with the EEOC | Generally 300 days in California | Much shorter than the state period. |
| Retaliation after you reported | Its own date | A separate incident with a separate clock. Action within 90 days of a complaint protected by Labor Code section 98.6 is presumed retaliatory. |
| Civil claims arising from the assault itself | A separate, longer statute | California sets a different period for adult sexual assault claims than for ordinary workplace claims, and it has been amended more than once. It must be worked out on your dates rather than assumed. |
The last row is the one to take seriously rather than guess at. Two claims arising from the same event can have very different deadlines, and the shortest one governs what you lose first. Get the dates checked early even if you are not ready to decide anything else.
Protection at work, and time off
Orders that keep someone away from you
A civil harassment restraining order under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.6 is available to a worker against a coworker, customer or other person where there has been violence, a credible threat of violence, or a qualifying course of harassment. Separately, an employer can petition for a workplace violence restraining order under section 527.8 to protect an employee. If the person is a current or former intimate partner or a family member, the domestic violence route may fit instead.
You can request temporary protection before a full hearing, and applications alleging violence, threats of violence or stalking carry no court filing fee. You do not have to wait for an HR investigation to finish.
Time off and adjustments
California gives employees who experience a qualifying act of violence the right to take time off to obtain a restraining order or other relief for their safety. At employers with 25 or more employees, the leave reaches further, covering things like seeking medical or supportive services, taking part in legal proceedings, relocating, and caring for a family member injured by the violence. Safety-related accommodations at work are also available. No arrest or conviction is required.
Your privacy
The worry that this becomes public is usually the biggest obstacle to doing anything, so be clear about where the real exposure is.
An agency complaint is not a public court filing. A lawsuit is. A settlement can keep your identity confidential, but only if you ask for it and no government agency is a party. California also limits how far an employer can go into your unrelated sexual history: Evidence Code section 1106 generally bars using it to prove consent or absence of injury, subject to exceptions that need their own review.
Our page on confidentiality in a harassment case sets out what can and cannot be kept private.
What to keep, and what not to touch
- Your own written account, dated, including what happened immediately before and after. Mark anything you are unsure of as uncertain.
- Messages, photographs and voicemails you already have, kept whole rather than cropped, with an untouched original and a separate working copy.
- The names of anyone who saw or heard anything, or who you told that day.
- Medical records if you sought care, and the date you did.
- Any report you made, and the reply.
Ask in writing for camera footage and access logs to be preserved, naming the date, time and location. Footage is often overwritten within weeks. Do not enter anyone else's account, bypass access controls, or take patient, student or customer records.
Questions people ask
No. A criminal report is your choice and is not a precondition. The employment claim asks a different question, decided on a different standard, about what the employer allowed and what it did afterward. Many claims proceed with no criminal case at all.
No. A prosecutor's decision reflects the criminal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil liability is generally decided on what is more likely than not, and the employment claim is about the employer's conduct as well as the individual's.
It may be one, for medical treatment and some lost wages if you were injured. It is not the whole picture. Harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims under state employment law are a separate route with separate remedies, including emotional distress and attorney's fees. Get advice before accepting that one process covers everything.
Not for a sexual assault or sexual harassment dispute. Since 2022, federal law lets the person bringing the claim decide whether a pre-dispute arbitration agreement applies. Bring the agreement anyway, because it may still affect other claims.
Not in itself. Record why you were there, who organized it, and how it connected to your work. A trip, conference or after-hours event can be part of the working environment. What matters is the connection to employment and the authority the person held, not the address.
Yes. Employers are responsible for harassment by customers, clients, patients and vendors where they knew or should have known and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. This is why a written report, with a date, matters so much in these cases.
For the employment claim, three years to file with the Civil Rights Department, one year to sue after a right to sue notice, and generally 300 days for a federal charge. Civil claims arising from the assault itself fall under a separate and longer statute that has been amended more than once, so the dates should be worked out on your facts rather than assumed.
Yes. A civil harassment restraining order is available where there has been violence, a credible threat of violence or a qualifying course of harassment. An employer can also seek a workplace violence restraining order to protect you. Temporary protection can be requested before the full hearing, and there is no filing fee for applications alleging violence, threats or stalking.
California gives employees who experience a qualifying act of violence the right to take time off to obtain a restraining order or similar relief. At employers with 25 or more employees the leave is broader, covering medical and supportive services, legal proceedings, relocation and caring for an injured family member. Safety accommodations at work are also available, and no arrest or conviction is required.
Not if the matter stays with an agency or settles. An agency complaint is not a public court filing, and a settlement can keep your identity confidential where you request it and no government agency is a party. A lawsuit is a public filing. If privacy is your priority, say so at the first meeting, because it affects which route makes sense.
Talk to someone before the dates decide for you
You do not need to have decided anything to get advice. A free, confidential review will tell you which deadlines apply to your facts, whether your employer is exposed, what any document you have been handed actually does, and what can be done to keep your name out of public records.
Nothing is reported to your employer. Call (800) 371-3088 or send what you have.
Related reading: the step-by-step plan, criminal and civil rights explained, the full sexual harassment guide, the filing deadlines, text messages and emails as evidence, whether you need a lawyer, retaliation after reporting, a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer, how to choose a sexual harassment lawyer, sexual assault at work statistics, and when to talk to a lawyer.
Sources
- Judicial Council of California, Civil Jury Instructions (2026): battery, assault, sexual battery under Civil Code section 1708.5, employer liability for supervisor and coworker harassment, damages, and Evidence Code section 1106 on sexual history evidence.
- California Civil Rights Department, Sexual Harassment: The Facts: Government Code section 12940, harassment by non-employees, and personal liability.
- California Civil Rights Department, Employment: coverage, the three year filing period, and remedies including emotional distress and punitive damages.
- California Civil Rights Department, Complaint Process: how an administrative complaint proceeds and what follows a right to sue notice.
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Time Limits for Filing a Charge: the 300 day period in California.
- Public Law 117-90, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, enrolled text: the claimant's election over a pre-dispute arbitration agreement.
- California Courts, Ask for a Civil Harassment Restraining Order and Petition for Workplace Violence Restraining Orders: Code of Civil Procedure sections 527.6 and 527.8, and the fee position.
- California Civil Rights Department, Survivors of Violence and Family Members of Victims: Right to Leave and Accommodations: time off to obtain a restraining order, the broader leave at employers with 25 or more employees, and safety accommodations.
- California Department of Industrial Relations, Laws Prohibiting Retaliation and Discrimination: Labor Code section 98.6 and the SB 497 presumption.
- California Civil Rights Department, Limitations on Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Clauses: identity clauses at the complainant's request, and what a settlement may not silence.
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.