California Employment Lawyers
California has the strongest workplace harassment protections in the country. It reaches employers that federal law does not, covers workers that federal law leaves out, and gives employees far more time to bring a claim. Many people who were told they had no case under federal law have a viable one under California law.
We represent employees statewide in hostile work environment, quid pro quo, and retaliation claims. If you are not sure whether your situation qualifies, a consultation will tell you.
California Gives Employees More Protection Than Federal Law Does
State law reaches smaller employers, allows more time to file, and sets a lower bar for what qualifies as actionable harassment than the federal equivalent. That means claims that would go nowhere under federal law are often viable here. If you were told you do not have a case, it is worth a second look.
State Law Compared to Federal Law
Most harassment claims in California can be brought under the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), federal Title VII, or both. The differences are significant.
| California (FEHA) | Federal (Title VII) | |
| Employer size for harassment claims | Any size, including one employee | 15 or more employees |
| Deadline to file with the agency | 3 years | 300 days |
| Deadline to sue after notice | 1 year | 90 days |
| Personal liability for the harasser | Yes | Generally no |
| Cap on damages | No statutory cap | Capped by employer size |
In practice this is why most California harassment cases are brought under state law. Filing with the state agency also does not prevent a parallel federal filing where one makes sense.
Who Is Covered
Protection is broader than many people assume. California's harassment provisions extend beyond conventional employees.
- Full-time and part-time employees, regardless of how long you have worked there.
- Job applicants, including harassment that occurs during an interview or hiring process.
- Unpaid interns and volunteers, who are expressly covered for harassment.
- Independent contractors, who are covered for harassment even though they are not covered for many other employment claims.
- Temp and staffing agency workers, where both the agency and the host business may be responsible.
- Employees regardless of immigration status. Your status does not affect your right to bring a harassment claim.
You also do not have to be the direct target. An employee subjected to a workplace permeated by harassment directed at others may have a claim.
Harassment Outside the Office Still Counts
Where conduct happens matters less than whether it is connected to your employment. Claims routinely involve conduct that occurred nowhere near a workplace.
- Messaging platforms. Slack, Teams, and internal chat tools generate some of the clearest documentary evidence in modern cases.
- Personal texts and social media. A supervisor messaging you after hours is not outside the scope simply because it happened on a personal device.
- Video calls. Comments, screen shares, and conduct during remote meetings are treated the same as in-person conduct.
- Work travel and conferences. Hotels, dinners, and industry events tied to your job are within the scope of employment.
- Company social events. Holiday parties, team outings, and client entertainment are common sources of claims.
Remote and hybrid work has not reduced harassment claims. It has changed the evidence, which is often more complete than it was when everything happened in person.
Harassment Combined With Other Protected Traits
Harassment often does not fall into a single category. An employee may be targeted because of both gender and race, or gender and age, in ways that neither trait explains on its own.
California law now expressly recognizes claims based on the combination of two or more protected characteristics. This matters because employers have historically defended these cases by isolating each trait and arguing that other employees sharing that trait were treated fine. That argument does not work when the claim is about the combination itself.
If your situation involves more than one protected characteristic, describe all of them during your consultation rather than choosing the one that seems strongest.
What California Requires of Employers
Employers have affirmative duties, not just prohibitions. Failures here often become evidence.
- A written harassment prevention policy distributed to all employees.
- Training. Employers with five or more employees must provide two hours of training to supervisors and one hour to other employees every two years.
- Required workplace postings informing employees of their rights.
- Prompt and fair investigation once the employer is on notice.
- Corrective action that actually works. A warning that changes nothing is not compliance.
An employer that skipped these steps has a harder time arguing it did everything reasonable to prevent and correct harassment.
Counties We Serve
We represent employees throughout California, in all 58 counties. Counties linked below have a dedicated page with more detail on our work in that area.
| Alameda | Alpine | Amador |
| Butte | Calaveras | Colusa |
| Contra Costa | Del Norte | El Dorado |
| Fresno | Glenn | Humboldt |
| Imperial | Inyo | Kern |
| Kings | Lake | Lassen |
| Los Angeles | Madera | Marin |
| Mariposa | Mendocino | Merced |
| Modoc | Mono | Monterey |
| Napa | Nevada | Orange |
| Placer | Plumas | Riverside |
| Sacramento | San Benito | San Bernardino |
| San Diego | San Francisco | San Joaquin |
| San Luis Obispo | San Mateo | Santa Barbara |
| Santa Clara | Santa Cruz | Shasta |
| Sierra | Siskiyou | Solano |
| Sonoma | Stanislaus | Sutter |
| Tehama | Trinity | Tulare |
| Tuolumne | Ventura | Yolo |
| Yuba |
Wherever you work in California, the same state protections apply. Contact us to find out how we can help.
Working With an Attorney Outside Your County
California employment attorneys are licensed to practice statewide, not by county. Where the firm's office sits does not limit where a case can be brought or who can bring it.
Most of the process is handled remotely. Consultations happen by phone or video, documents are exchanged electronically, and communication does not require you to travel. If a case reaches litigation, filings are made in the appropriate court for where you worked, and depositions are commonly conducted by video.
The practical question is not proximity. It is whether the attorney handles this type of claim regularly and knows how these cases are defended.
If Another Firm Turned You Down
Firms decline cases for reasons that have nothing to do with whether the conduct was unlawful. Capacity, case mix, whether the firm handles this claim type, and how the facts were presented in a short intake call all factor in.
Cases are also commonly undervalued at first look when the employee has not yet described the full timeline, when the strongest evidence is retaliation that occurred after the complaint rather than the harassment itself, or when the employee did not realize what they still had in writing.
A second opinion costs nothing. If the answer is still no, you will at least understand why.
Talk to a California Sexual Harassment Lawyer
A consultation is free and confidential. You will find out whether the law applies to your situation, what deadlines you are working against, and what your options look like from here. Contact us today to speak with an attorney.