California’s Civil Rights Department reports statistics on sexual harassment reports. From 2023’s statistics, there were:

• 41 sexual harassment (quid pro quo) employment complaints
• 429 sexual harassment (hostile environment) employment complaints
• 2,858 sexual harassment (quid pro quo) employment right-to-sue complaints
• 6,297 sexual harassment (hostile environment) employment right-to-sue complaints 

California law requires any employer with five or more employees to provide sexual harassment and abuse training every two years. Supervisors require two hours, while non-supervisory employees require one hour. This includes companies that have workers scattered across the nation. 

Despite this law, workers still experience sexual harassment. When it’s you, you feel powerless. You feel helpless, and you don’t know what to do. What happens when you file a workplace sexual harassment complaint with a California employment attorney? Our guide covers your rights and obligations.

Understanding California’s Definition of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment is defined as a type of discrimination based on:

• Gender/Sex (Includes pregnancy and childbirth)
• Gender identity
• Gender expression
• Sexual orientation

While people often associate sexual harassment with harassment or abuse motivated by sexual desire, it doesn’t have to be. Commenting on a woman who frequently takes breaks to pump milk for her newborn is a form of sexual harassment. Here are other forms of sexual harassment:

• Blocking someone from moving past or into another area.
• Leering or making rude gestures at people in the workplace.
• Making graphic comments, derogatory comments, or sexually suggestive jokes.
• Offering unwanted sexual advances.
• Physically touching someone in the workplace without consent.
• Providing an employment benefit in exchange for a sexual favor.
• Sending sexual images or cartoons via email
• Threatening another person in the workplace for complaining about sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment complaints fall into one of two types:

1. Hostile environment: Behavior or comments make someone in the workplace feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. The person feeling harassed may be a bystander, not the actual victim. 
2. Quid pro quo: This stands for “this for that.” It’s a form of harassment where someone is promised a benefit in exchange for a sexual favor. For example, a manager promises a worker a promotion in exchange for going on a date.

Tips for Filing a Complaint With the Civil Rights Department

Californians have the right to file a complaint on their own. However, you may not be familiar with the intricacies of the state’s laws. When you file a complaint with the Civil Rights Department, you follow these steps.

• Build a file (online and printed) of the dates, times, and situations where you experienced the unwelcome behavior.
• Read your company’s sexual harassment policy to determine how to file your complaint.
• If you feel safe doing so, file a formal complaint to your HR department, supervisor, or whoever you’re supposed to go to.
• If your internal complaint doesn’t work or isn’t an option, go to the California Civil Rights Department and file an online, phone, or mail complaint. Again, be as detailed as possible with the information from the file you created.

Once the CRD goes over your case, the office may perform a detailed investigation, offer to mediate your complaint with your employer, or issue you a Right-to-Sue letter. At that point, you can go to a California sexual harassment attorney. Generally, you have a year from the date of the Right-to-Sue letter to file a lawsuit.

Maximizing Damages Under California Law

You found an employment law attorney who agrees to represent you. That attorney considers the maximum damages your company should have to pay you. Possible damages are economic and non-economic and include:

• Current and future lost wages
• Emotional distress
• Medical costs
• Pain and suffering
• Punitive damages
• Recovery of legal fees (fee-shifting)

The potential award depends on the severity of the case, the strength of the evidence, and the employer’s actions. In the U.S., most sexual harassment charges are settled with settlements totaling close to $252 million between 2018 and 2021. A smaller percentage goes to court. In that same period, over $48 million was awarded in court.

A strong case is critical, which is why an attorney specializing in sexual harassment cases is essential. An attorney files the complaint and protects your rights during the discovery phase. Discovery includes;

• Questioning your supervisors and other parties accused of harassment
• Requesting emails, personnel files, company policies, text messages, and other documents from the other party
• Supporting you during interrogation
• Taking depositions from witnesses

Negotiating a Settlement vs. Going to Trial

A settlement helps you avoid having to go to a trial and answer questions in front of the judge and/or jury. You and your employer agree on an amount that ends the complaint. Your attorney helps you determine if the settlement offer is worthwhile.

You may be asked to sign a confidentiality agreement, which restricts you from being able to tell others about the amount you received. It cannot stop you from telling others about the sexual harassment you experienced.

If you refuse a settlement offer, you go to court. A court hearing for sexual harassment can last several years. Ideally, you want a quick resolution, but complex cases often extend well over 1 ½ years. 

The court trial goes through several stages.

• Opening statements
• Plaintiff’s testimony (your testimony)
• Witness testimony (witnesses’ statements)
• Defendant’s case (Defending attorneys take your employer’s testimony and present their witnesses)
• Cross-examinations (Attorneys question the other side’s witnesses)
• Presentation of evidence
• Closing statements
• The judge or jury’s decision
• Award of monetary damages, any necessary protection orders, and job-related outcomes, such as policy changes or reinstatement

Two Key Criteria You Can’t Ignore

Sexual harassment complaints have a three-year statute of limitations. It’s important not to waste too much time deciding whether you should file a complaint or not. Three years isn’t a lot of time. 

California law also requires the conduct to be “Severe or Pervasive.” This means that at least one of the following must be carefully considered to determine whether the behavior was truly abusive, hostile, intimidating, offensive, and/or oppressive.

• The type of conduct
• The frequency and length of time
• How, when, and why the conduct occurred
• The level of threat or humiliation caused by the conduct

If you feel you’re a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace or have witnessed someone else being harassed, speak up. File a complaint. Your employee manual provides you with information on how to file a complaint with your HR department, but that may not be enough. 

Consult with an attorney in employment law to determine the best course of action. An attorney also helps you navigate rights and remedies once you file a complaint.

Shegerian Conniff’s team of employment law experts is by your side from the moment you file a complaint to the outcome. We fight for you and ensure your rights are protected. Reach us online for a free consultation.