A deposition is your testimony under oath before trial. It takes place in a law office or on video, with a court reporter and the lawyers but no judge. In a California sexual harassment case it can run longer than a day, and the law sharply limits questions about your sexual history.
For most people this is the day of the case they fear most. It is also the day that most often moves a case toward settlement, because it is the first time the employer's lawyer sees how you will come across to a jury. This page explains who will be in the room, the rules on time and place, what you will be asked, what is off limits, what your lawyer can do while you testify, and how to prepare.
The short answer
- It is not a trial. There is no judge and no jury. You sit in a conference room or join a video call, and the employer's lawyer asks questions.
- Your lawyer is beside you the whole time. Your lawyer prepares you beforehand, objects during the questioning and stops anything improper.
- There is no seven-hour limit. The cap that applies to most California depositions does not apply to a case by an employee against an employer. Plan for a full day and possibly a second.
- Your sexual history with other people is protected. The other side needs a court order before it can ask.
- The person who harassed you may be allowed to attend if they are a named defendant. There are ways to limit what that means in practice.
- You get to read the transcript and correct it within 30 days.
- Your job is simple to state. Tell the truth, listen to the question, answer only that question, and stop.
What a deposition is, and why it matters
A deposition is part of discovery, the stage of a lawsuit where each side learns the other side's evidence. The employer's lawyer asks you questions. You answer under the same oath you would take in court. A court reporter takes down every word and produces a written transcript.
It matters for three reasons.
- It locks in your account. If your testimony at trial differs from your deposition, the other side can read your earlier answer to the jury.
- It is evidence. The employer can use your deposition for any purpose, including in a motion asking the judge to end the case before trial.
- It sets the value of the case. A plaintiff who is clear, consistent and believable changes how the employer and its insurer see the risk of a trial. Many cases settle in the weeks after the plaintiff testifies.
| Person | Why they are there |
|---|---|
| Court reporter | Swears you in and records every word. May attend by video |
| The employer's lawyer | Asks nearly all the questions |
| Your lawyer | Sits with you, objects, protects privileged and private matters, and may ask you questions at the end |
| Videographer | Only if the deposition notice said the testimony would be recorded on video |
| A company representative | The employer is a party and may send someone to watch |
| The person who harassed you | Only if they are a named defendant or attend as the company's representative. See the section below |
| Interpreter | If you need one. Ask well in advance |
If you are handling a case without a lawyer, you must still appear, and nobody will be there to object for you. That is one of the strongest reasons to read whether you need a lawyer before a deposition date is set.
The rules on time and place
| Subject | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Notice | The date must be at least 10 days after the notice is served. In practice the lawyers agree on a date that works |
| Place | Within 75 miles of your home, or in the county where the case is filed if that is within 150 miles of your home |
| Video conference | Allowed and common. The person testifying or the side taking the deposition may choose to have the court reporter attend remotely |
| Length | Most depositions are capped at seven hours of testimony. That cap does not apply to a case by an employee or job applicant against an employer |
| How many times | Once. A second deposition of the same person needs a court order for good cause or an agreement |
| Video recording | Allowed only with advance notice, normally in the deposition notice itself |
| Documents | The notice can list documents for you to bring. Your lawyer answers the list and objects where needed |
| Transcript | You have 30 days after being told it is ready to read it, correct it and sign it |
About the length. Because the cap does not apply, a plaintiff's deposition in a harassment case commonly takes a full day and sometimes continues on a second day. No cap does not mean no limit. A judge can cut off questioning that has turned into harassment, as explained below.
What you will be asked
- Background. Your education, past jobs, family, earlier lawsuits or claims, and any criminal convictions.
- The job. How you were hired, your duties, pay, reviews, any discipline, and the policies and training you received.
- Each incident. What was said or done, where, when, who saw it, what you said and did, and how often it happened.
- Your response. Who you told, what you reported and when, and what the company did.
- How the job ended, if it ended, and your reasons if you resigned.
- The effect on you. Sleep, health, relationships, counseling, medication, and other sources of stress in your life at the time.
- Money. What you earned, your job search and what you earn now.
- Documents. Every message, note, photo and post you have, and whether anything was deleted.
- What you have already said in writing. Your court complaint, your agency complaint and your written discovery answers, sometimes line by line.
Expect the same event to come up several times in different words. That is deliberate. The lawyer is testing whether the details stay the same.
Expect questions about what you did not do: why you did not report sooner, why you stayed, why you answered a message politely. Those questions have honest answers, and jurors understand them. Give the true reason in a sentence and stop. The page on evidence, texts and recordings explains why friendly replies do not sink a case.
What is off limits
California gives a person bringing a sexual harassment case more protection here than most people expect. The California Supreme Court has held, in a sexual harassment case, that filing suit does not waive your right to privacy in your sexual history.
| Subject | The rule |
|---|---|
| Your sexual history with anyone other than the alleged harasser | The other side may not ask until it files a formal motion and proves specific facts showing good cause. A judge decides, and the side that loses the motion can be ordered to pay the other's costs |
| Your sexual conduct as proof that you consented or were not harmed | Not admissible at trial, whether offered as opinion, reputation or specific instances |
| Your sexual conduct as an attack on your credibility | Requires a written motion, a sworn offer of proof and a hearing outside the jury's presence before any of it reaches the jury |
| Your dealings with the alleged harasser | Not covered by those protections. Expect detailed questions about every interaction with that person, including friendly ones |
| Medical and counseling history | Claiming emotional distress opens the subject of that distress and its treatment. It does not open your entire medical and personal history |
| Immigration status | Irrelevant to liability under California employment and civil rights law. It may not be asked about unless the person asking proves by clear and convincing evidence that it is necessary to comply with federal immigration law |
| Conversations with your lawyer | Privileged. You never have to say what you and your lawyer discussed |
One caution. Some of this protection can be given up by your own testimony. If you bring up your own sexual conduct, the defense is allowed to question you on it and offer evidence in response. Answer the question asked and do not add to it.
About other stress in your life. If you claim emotional distress, the defense will look for other causes: a divorce, a death, money trouble, an earlier trauma. Those questions are usually allowed. Tell your lawyer about anything of this kind before the deposition, not after. More on how distress is proved is on the page about the mental health impact of workplace harassment.
What your lawyer can do while you testify
- Object to a question. Most objections are to the wording: the question is vague, assumes something untrue, or asks two things at once. The objection goes on the record and you usually still answer.
- Instruct you not to answer. This is reserved for privileged matters and legally protected subjects such as the ones in the table above. A privilege that is not raised at the deposition can be lost, which is why your lawyer will speak up at once.
- Stop the deposition. If the questioning becomes abusive, your lawyer can suspend it and ask a judge for a protective order. The judge may protect a witness from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment or oppression by limiting the subjects, ending the deposition early, moving it, excluding people who are not parties, or sealing the transcript.
- Ask you questions at the end to clear up an answer that came out wrong or incomplete.
Your lawyer cannot answer for you, coach you in the middle of an answer or tell you to refuse a question only because it seems irrelevant. A California appeals court upheld sanctions against a lawyer who did the last of those. So the working rule is short. When your lawyer objects and says you may answer, answer. When your lawyer instructs you not to answer, do not answer, even if the other lawyer pushes.
Will the person who harassed you be there?
Possibly. Every party to a lawsuit has the right to attend the depositions in it. If the person who harassed you is named as a defendant, they may attend yours. If only the company is sued, the company may send a representative, and where the harasser is an owner or officer that representative can be them.
The statute that lets a judge exclude people from a deposition carves out the parties, so keeping a named defendant out entirely is rare. What can be done:
- Testify by video conference. The other person is then a muted square on a screen, and you can ask that their camera be off.
- Ask the court to require remote attendance. The rule that lets any party be physically present where you are is expressly subject to the court's protective order power. That gives your lawyer a basis to ask that the person attend by video instead of sitting across the table.
- Agree on ground rules. A seat out of your line of sight, no speaking, no gestures and separate rooms during breaks are common terms.
- Put misconduct on the record. Staring, sighing, laughing or muttering gets described aloud by your lawyer so the transcript shows it.
That person cannot question you. Only the lawyer does. And it runs both ways: you have the right to attend their deposition. Some people want to be there. Others would rather read the transcript. The choice is yours.
How to prepare
- Meet with your lawyer. Expect one or two preparation sessions, often including practice questions. Those sessions are privileged.
- Reread what you have already said. Your complaint, your agency complaint, your written discovery answers and the key messages. Differences between those and your testimony will be used.
- Know your timeline without memorizing a script. Rehearsed answers sound rehearsed. You need the order of events and the main dates, not exact wording.
- Do not make new notes to bring with you. If you use a writing to refresh your memory, the other side can demand to see it. Review what your lawyer gives you and bring nothing unless you are told to.
- Tell your lawyer the question you are most afraid of. There is almost always either a rule that blocks it or an honest answer that is less damaging than you think. Your lawyer cannot protect you from a surprise.
- Look at your own social media the way the other lawyer will. Do not delete anything. Deleting evidence after a claim arises causes far more harm than any post.
- Plan the day. Sleep, eat, arrange child care and clear the whole day. Do not schedule anything for that evening.
- If English is not your first language, say so early so a certified interpreter can be arranged.
How to answer
- Tell the truth. Everything else on this list depends on that one.
- Listen to the whole question, then pause. The pause lets you think and gives your lawyer time to object. A written transcript does not show pauses.
- Answer only the question asked. If the question is whether you know what time it is, the answer is yes. Do not fill a silence.
- Do not guess. "I don't know" and "I don't remember" are complete answers when they are true. An estimate is fine if you say it is an estimate.
- If you do not understand a question, say so. If you answer, the record assumes you understood.
- Read any document before answering questions about it. All of it, however long that takes.
- Do not accept someone else's wording. If the lawyer's summary of your testimony is not accurate, say it is not accurate.
- Stay even. The friendly lawyer and the hostile lawyer want the same thing. Anger and sarcasm read badly on a page and worse on video.
- Take breaks. You can ask for one at any time. Expect to finish answering the pending question first.
- Correct mistakes when you notice them. Say on the record that you need to correct an earlier answer.
| The question | What is going on | A sound way to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| "Have you now told me everything he did?" | The lawyer is closing the list so nothing new can come up at trial | If true, say that is everything you can remember right now |
| "You never told him to stop, did you?" | The lawyer wants the conduct to look welcome | Say truthfully what you did. Going along with a boss to keep a job is not the same as welcoming the conduct, and your lawyer can bring out why |
| "Would it be fair to say that..." | The words are the lawyer's, and they will be quoted as yours | Agree only if every part is accurate. Otherwise say what is accurate |
| "You sent this friendly message the next day?" | One message is being shown without its context | Read the document, confirm what is true and answer the question. Your lawyer can bring out the context |
| "What did you do to prepare for today?" | A proper question that edges toward privileged conversations | Say that you met with your lawyer. Do not describe what was said |
| "How many times did it happen? Ten? Twenty?" | A guess becomes a number you are held to | Give a number only if you know it. Otherwise give an honest range and call it an estimate |
The mental examination, in some cases
This is separate from a deposition, and it does not happen in every case. Where a plaintiff's mental condition is in controversy, the defense may ask for an examination by its own psychiatrist or psychologist.
- It needs a court order or your agreement. The defense must file a motion and show good cause. The order must spell out who will examine you and the time, place, manner, tests, conditions and scope.
- It depends on what you claim. A claim of ongoing distress, a diagnosed condition or a claim supported by an expert invites a request. The statute bars an examination, absent exceptional circumstances, where a plaintiff formally agrees to claim no distress beyond what usually goes with the injuries claimed and to offer no expert testimony about it. Whether to limit a claim that way is a decision to make with your lawyer, because it also limits what you can recover.
- The examiner must be qualified. A licensed physician, or a licensed clinical psychologist with a doctoral degree and at least five years of postgraduate experience diagnosing emotional and mental disorders.
- You may record it. Both you and the examiner have the right to make an audio recording.
- Distance. An examination more than 75 miles from your home requires good cause, and the defense must pay your reasonable travel costs.
- Your privacy still applies. In the leading California case, the Supreme Court allowed a mental examination of a harassment plaintiff who claimed continuing distress, but held that the examiner could not probe her sexual history without a further showing of good cause.
After the deposition
The transcript. The court reporter will notify you when it is ready. You then have 30 days to read it, make corrections and sign it. You may change an answer, but the original answer stays in the record and the other side can point out the change at trial. Use corrections for real mistakes, not second thoughts.
The other side's turn. Your lawyer takes the depositions of the person who harassed you, the HR staff, the managers who made decisions and the company's designated spokesperson on key subjects. What they say under oath often matters as much as what you said.
What usually follows. The employer may file a motion asking the judge to decide the case without a trial, and the lawyers often schedule a mediation once the main depositions are done. The page on how long a sexual harassment case takes shows where this falls in the full timeline, and the page on how settlements work covers what comes next if the case resolves.
In arbitration. Depositions work the same way, but an arbitrator rules on disputes and the rules may limit how many each side takes. Most people with a sexual harassment claim can choose court over arbitration.
Questions people ask
Plan for a full day, and be ready for a second. California caps most depositions at seven hours, but that cap does not apply to a case by an employee against an employer. A judge can still stop questioning that has become abusive.
Not without a court order. Before asking about your sexual conduct with anyone other than the alleged harasser, the other side must file a motion and prove specific facts showing good cause. Your dealings with the alleged harasser are not protected in the same way.
They may attend if they are a named defendant, or if they attend as the company's representative. They cannot question you or speak to you. Your lawyer can ask for a video deposition, for that person to attend remotely, or for seating and conduct rules.
If you claim emotional distress, yes, as to that distress, its treatment and other possible causes. Your whole medical history does not become open. Your lawyer will object to questions that go beyond the conditions you have put at issue.
Only when your lawyer instructs you not to answer, which is limited to privileged and legally protected subjects. Otherwise you answer, even if the question seems irrelevant or insulting. The objection is on the record and a judge can rule on it later.
Say so. Nobody remembers every date, and a wrong guess does more harm than an honest gap. You can give a range or tie the event to something else, such as a holiday or a shift, and say that it is an estimate.
Correct it as soon as you realize, on the record. A correction made the same day is far better than a mistake the other side finds later. You also have 30 days to correct the transcript, though the original answer stays visible.
Yes, during breaks, and you may ask for a break. The usual ground rule is that you answer the pending question first, unless you need to ask whether the answer would reveal something privileged.
Ask for a break. It happens in most depositions of this kind and nobody in the room will be surprised. Take the time you need, especially if the deposition is on video, and continue when you are ready.
Generally no. Once a person has been deposed, a second deposition requires a court order based on good cause or an agreement. A single deposition that runs over two days counts as one.
Often, yes. California allows depositions by video conference and many are taken that way by agreement. You need a quiet private room, a stable connection and nobody else present. Your lawyer may prefer to be in the same room with you.
The side that takes the deposition pays the court reporter, and each side pays for its own copy of the transcript. Under a contingency agreement your lawyer normally advances your side's costs. A party is not paid for their time.
The other side can ask the court to order you to appear and to make you pay for the wasted session. Continued refusal can end your case. If a date is a problem, tell your lawyer early. Dates are moved by agreement all the time.
No. A deposition is a normal step in any case that does not settle early. Most cases still resolve before trial, and many resolve soon after the main depositions.
You will receive a subpoena instead of a notice, and you are entitled to a witness fee of $35 a day plus 20 cents a mile each way. Your deposition is usually much shorter. An employer may not punish you for testifying truthfully.
Talk to us before the day comes
Whether a deposition is already on the calendar or the thought of one is what keeps you from bringing a case, tell us what happened. We will explain how this would work in your situation and how we prepare our clients for it. It is free and confidential.
(800) 371-3088 or send what you have.
Related reading: the full case timeline, what counts as evidence, what a case is worth, the rights of witnesses, the full California sexual harassment guide, nonverbal, visual and online harassment, harassment on Zoom, Slack and email, and what to do after a sexual assault at work.
Sources
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.290: the seven-hour limit and the exception for cases by an employee or applicant against an employer.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.250 and section 2025.270: where a deposition may be held and the 10 days of notice.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.310: remote attendance and physical presence.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.420: protective orders.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.460: objections, and waiver of privilege not raised at the deposition.
- Stewart v. Colonial Western Agency, Inc. (2001) 87 Cal.App.4th 1006: a lawyer may not instruct a witness to refuse a question on relevance grounds.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2017.220: discovery about a plaintiff's sexual conduct with others requires a motion and good cause.
- California Evidence Code section 1106 and section 783: limits on evidence of a plaintiff's sexual conduct at trial.
- Vinson v. Superior Court (1987) 43 Cal.3d 833: privacy in sexual history, and mental examinations in a sexual harassment case.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.520, section 2025.610 and section 2025.620: correcting the transcript, one deposition per person, and use of a deposition at trial.
- California Code of Civil Procedure section 2032.020, section 2032.320 and section 2032.530: mental examinations.
- California Evidence Code section 771: a writing used to refresh memory must be produced on request.
- California Labor Code section 1171.5: immigration status.
- California Government Code section 68093: witness fees and mileage.
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.