California Workplace Sexual Assault Lawyer

Workplace Sexual Assault

Representing Survivors of Sexual Assault at Work

Sexual assault at work occupies its own legal ground - beyond harassment law, though it includes it. Groping, forced contact, assault at the holiday party, the supervisor who wouldn't take no: these are crimes, and they are simultaneously civil violations with remedies the criminal system cannot give you - compensation for what was taken from your health, your income, and your sense of safety. You control the civil case: whether to bring it, when, and against whom.

Two Tracks, Your Choice on Each

The criminal track belongs to the state: you report to police when and if you are ready, prosecutors decide charges, and guilt requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The civil track belongs to you: it requires only "more likely than not," it does not require a police report or a conviction, and it can proceed even where prosecutors declined. Many survivors pursue both; many pursue only the civil case. Both choices are legitimate, and no employer or HR department gets a vote.

Why the Employer Often Answers Too

The assailant is personally liable - always. But workplace assault cases usually reach the employer as well: when the assailant is a supervisor, FEHA liability is strict; when a coworker, customer, or patient, the employer answers for what it knew or should have known - the prior complaints about the same person, the warnings that went nowhere, the security that didn't exist, the shifts that kept scheduling you alone with him. Discovery has a way of revealing that the "shock" was not shock at all. The employer is also where remedies become real: lost income, therapy and medical costs, emotional distress - often the largest component - and punitive damages.

What to Do Now

Safety first; no shift is worth proximity to an assailant. Medical care early if there is any injury or forensic window. Write down everything with dates while memory is fresh; tell one trusted person; save every message. Report to the employer in writing when you are able - it triggers their duty to protect you, and any retaliation for reporting is separately unlawful and presumed so within 90 days. Cameras overwrite in days: a lawyer's preservation letter can freeze footage before it cycles. The full step-by-step is in our guide on what to do after a sexual assault at work.

Deadlines - Longer Here, But Don't Lean on That

California has extended civil deadlines for sexual assault claims well beyond ordinary employment limits, and FEHA's three-year clock covers the harassment dimension. The precise deadline depends on your facts and dates - which is a conversation, not a webpage. What ages fastest is evidence, not the statute. The consultation is free, privileged whether or not you hire us, and handled with the care this subject demands: 1-800-371-3088. If you want confidential support first, the national hotline at 1-800-656-4673 (RAINN) is there 24/7.