The numbers at a glance
- 8,475 sexual harassment charges filed with the EEOC in fiscal 2025
- 7,609 in fiscal 2018, the first full year after the MeToo movement began
- 5,581 in fiscal 2021, the pandemic low
- 6,787 California right to sue complaints alleging a sexually hostile environment in 2024, up from 4,990 in 2022
- 15.1% of fiscal 2024 sexual harassment charges were filed by men
Two records exist for counting sexual harassment complaints, and they move together. The EEOC series is long and national. The California series from CRD is short and local. Both say the same thing about the last four years: filings fell during the pandemic and have been climbing since.
EEOC sexual harassment charges, fiscal 2010 to fiscal 2025
| Fiscal year | Sexual harassment charges | Change from prior year | Merit resolutions | Monetary benefits, millions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8,475 | 0% | 2,194 | 86.1 |
| 2024 | 8,474 | 10% | 2,155 | 78.1 |
| 2023 | 7,732 | 25% | 1,809 | 60.6 |
| 2022 | 6,201 | 11% | 1,607 | 59.0 |
| 2021 | 5,581 | -15% | 1,769 | 61.6 |
| 2020 | 6,587 | -12% | 1,908 | 65.3 |
| 2019 | 7,514 | -1% | 1,792 | 68.2 |
| 2018 | 7,609 | 14% | 1,819 | 56.6 |
| 2017 | 6,696 | -1% | 1,682 | 46.3 |
| 2016 | 6,758 | -1% | 1,713 | 40.7 |
| 2015 | 6,822 | -1% | 1,829 | 46.0 |
| 2014 | 6,862 | -5% | 1,738 | 35.0 |
| 2013 | 7,256 | -4% | 1,929 | 44.6 |
| 2012 | 7,571 | -3% | 2,190 | 43.0 |
| 2011 | 7,809 | -2% | 2,258 | 45.1 |
| 2010 | 7,944 | 2,322 | 41.2 |
The series has two turning points. Fiscal 2018 was the first full year after the MeToo movement started in October 2017, and charges jumped 14 percent in one year. Fiscal 2021, when much of the country worked from home, produced the low of 5,581. From that low to fiscal 2025 the count rose 52 percent, and fiscal 2024 and 2025 are the two highest years in the series, above the 7,944 recorded in fiscal 2010.
California filings, 2022 to 2024
| Calendar year | Right to sue, hostile environment | Right to sue, quid pro quo | Investigated, hostile environment | Investigated, quid pro quo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 6,787 | 2,730 | 449 | 38 |
| 2023 | 6,297 | 2,858 | 429 | 41 |
| 2022 | 4,990 | 2,160 | 441 | 56 |
California moved the same direction, hostile environment right to sue complaints up 36 percent in two years. The state series is affected by one thing the federal series is not: since 2020 Californians have had three years rather than one to file, so the state counts include people whose incidents are older.
A note on how to read the CRD figures. The Civil Rights Department publishes its numbers by calendar year, and it counts a complaint under every basis it lists, so the basis rows add up to more than the number of complaints. Most California workers who go to court first ask CRD for an immediate right to sue notice rather than an investigation, so the right to sue table is the closer measure of how many people are actually pursuing a claim.
Why the two series are not the same population
A California worker can file with either agency, and a charge filed with one is usually cross filed with the other, but the EEOC state table does not separate harassment from other sex charges. The EEOC counted 1,350 sex based charges of all kinds in California in fiscal 2025. CRD counted 9,131 sex or gender right to sue complaints and 6,787 hostile environment sexual harassment complaints in 2024. The state agency is where the majority of California claims are filed, which is why our California figures come from CRD.
What these numbers mean if it happened to you
Rising filings mean two things for a worker weighing a claim. Employers and their insurers are handling more of these cases and settle the credible ones, and agencies are busier, so a strong claim is better served by a right to sue and a lawyer than by waiting for an investigation. The three year California window is the most generous in the country, but evidence goes stale long before the deadline does.
Deadlines that decide these cases
A California worker has three years from the last act of harassment or discrimination to file with the Civil Rights Department, and one year after a right to sue notice to file in court. The federal deadline is much shorter, 300 days to file a charge with the EEOC. The counts on this page only include people who filed inside those windows. Everyone who waited too long is missing from every table here.
Thinking about filing?
A free, confidential review will tell you what your claim is worth and which route fits it.
Sources
The figures on this page were taken from the following publications, as released by the agencies. Percentages, changes, sums and rates per 100,000 workers are our own arithmetic from those figures.
- EEOC, Table E2c, Title VII sexual harassment charge receipts and resolutions, FY 2010 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- EEOC, Table E1b, charge receipts by state and basis, FY 2009 to FY 2025, www.eeoc.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2024 Annual Report (complaint tables and county appendix), calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2023 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
- California Civil Rights Department, 2022 Annual Report, calcivilrights.ca.gov
Frequently asked questions
Are sexual harassment complaints going up or down?
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Did MeToo increase sexual harassment complaints?
Why are the California and EEOC numbers different?
Attorney advertising. The figures on this page come from the public sources listed above and are reproduced or computed as described. They are provided for general information and do not constitute legal advice, nor does reading this page create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different. If you believe your rights were violated, consult a California employment attorney promptly, filing deadlines apply.