Los Angeles Hostile Work Environment Attorney

California Hostile Work Environment Protections

California's Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits workplace harassment based on protected characteristics.

California law expressly recognizes that a single incident can be sufficient to create a triable hostile-work-environment issue when the conduct unreasonably interferes with work or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.

California harassment protections also reach smaller workplaces than some other FEHA provisions. The California Civil Rights Department states that workplace harassment is prohibited even where there is only one employee or independent contractor.

Employer responsibility can depend on the harasser's role.

Harassment by supervisors is analyzed differently from harassment by nonsupervisory coworkers. For coworker harassment, employer liability can depend on whether the employer knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

Employers can also be responsible for harassment by customers, vendors, contractors, and other nonemployees in circumstances where the employer knew or should have known of the conduct, had the ability to act, and failed to take appropriate preventive or corrective measures.

Federal Workplace Harassment Protections

Federal employment laws provide overlapping but not identical protections.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. The Americans with Disabilities Act addresses disability-based harassment, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects workers age 40 and older from age-based harassment.

Federal employer-size requirements vary by statute.

For covered California employees, federal discrimination and harassment claims may also involve filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before pursuing certain claims in court.

Our Los Angeles EEOC attorneys can evaluate which administrative process may apply when federal rights are involved.

Employer Responsibilities Under California Law

California employers have responsibilities intended to prevent and address workplace harassment.

Depending on employer size and the applicable law, those duties can include:

• Maintaining and distributing an anti-harassment, discrimination, and retaliation policy
• Providing a procedure for employees to report harassment
• Conducting prompt, fair, and thorough investigations
• Taking appropriate corrective action when unlawful harassment is found
• Providing legally required harassment-prevention training

California employers with five or more employees generally must provide sexual-harassment-prevention training every two years, including at least one hour for nonsupervisory employees and two hours for supervisors.

Whether an employer's response was legally sufficient depends on the facts, including what it knew, when it learned of the conduct, who was involved, and what preventive or corrective measures were available.

Documenting Workplace Harassment

Evidence can help establish what occurred, when it happened, who witnessed it, what management knew, and how the employer responded.

Useful documentation may include:

• Dates, times, locations, and descriptions of incidents
• Emails, text messages, workplace chats, photographs, or other communications
• Names of witnesses or coworkers who experienced similar conduct
• Complaints submitted to human resources, supervisors, or management
• Written responses to complaints or investigation findings
• Performance reviews, schedules, disciplinary notices, or other employment records
• Records of changes in hours, duties, compensation, assignments, or treatment after a complaint

Preserve relevant materials without altering or deleting them. Before transferring confidential workplace documents or information from an employer's systems, consider whether you have lawful access and whether confidentiality obligations apply.

Do I Have to Report Harassment to HR Before Taking Legal Action?

Not every hostile work environment claim requires the same internal reporting path.

Reporting harassment can nevertheless be important. It can create evidence that the employer knew about the conduct and provide an opportunity for corrective action, particularly when the alleged harasser is a coworker or nonemployee.

Supervisor harassment can involve different employer-liability rules.

An employee also may have legitimate reasons for not following a particular internal reporting path, including circumstances involving the harasser's role or fear of retaliation.

An employer's internal investigation does not automatically extend government filing deadlines.