I reported harassment at work: what must my employer do, and what should I do next?

Reporting harassment takes courage, and what happens in the weeks afterward often decides whether the problem stops. This page sets out the employer's legal duties under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), how retaliation works, how a complaint moves forward if the employer does not fix the problem, and practical next steps. For background on harassment and hostile work environments, see our employment law page. Our article on 5 employee rights every Californian should know puts harassment alongside the other basic protections.

What happens after a harassment report, step by step?

1. Your report. You tell a supervisor, human resources or whoever the employer's policy names. If you reported in person, confirm it the same day in a short email that says what you reported, to whom and when.
2. The employer's response. For harassment by a coworker, a customer or another nonemployee, Government Code section 12940(j)(1) makes the employer liable if it knew or should have known and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action. Section 12940(k) separately requires it to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment. The statute does not script the response; it measures whether the action was immediate and appropriate.
3. Protection while you keep working. Section 12940(h) bars discharge, expulsion or other discrimination against you because you opposed harassment or filed a complaint. Keep a dated log of incidents and of any change in your schedule, duties or reviews.
4. A Civil Rights Department intake, if needed. If the employer fails to act or retaliates, the next step under FEHA is usually an intake form to the Civil Rights Department (CRD), within three years of the date you were last harmed. Our guide to filing a Civil Rights Department complaint explains the intake interview.
5. Investigation or a right-to-sue notice. The CRD says it generally has up to one year from the date a complaint is filed to complete an investigation. You may instead ask for an immediate right-to-sue notice, which you need before filing your own FEHA lawsuit, and then you have one year to sue. A complaint filed with the CRD that also alleges a federal violation is automatically filed with the federal EEOC as well.
6. A lawsuit in Los Angeles County. The Superior Court's statement of location form (LASC CIV 109) lists employment complaints as a case type that may be filed in the Central District downtown or in the district where the claim arose. Our page for workers in Los Angeles County explains where discrimination and harassment complaints go locally.

What does California law require my employer to do?

A few more points from the statute matter here. Harassment does not require the loss of a tangible job benefit such as a demotion or pay cut. Harassment because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment and harassment based on pregnancy, and sexually harassing conduct need not be motivated by sexual desire (section 12940(j)(4)(C)). An employee who harasses a coworker is personally liable for it (section 12940(j)(3)). The Civil Rights Department adds that harassment is prohibited in all workplaces, even those with fewer than five employees, and that employers of five or more must provide sexual harassment training.

What counts as retaliation after a report?

Retaliation is an adverse action taken because you complained. Termination, demotion, reduced hours or a sudden hostile change in treatment after a complaint can all be signs of it. The Judicial Council's jury instruction for FEHA retaliation (CACI 2505) requires the employee to show the protected activity, an adverse employment action, that the activity was a substantial motivating reason for the action, and resulting harm. The same instruction notes that an employee who reasonably believed the conduct was unlawful does not have to prove the harassment itself to win a retaliation claim.

Retaliation does not have to be one dramatic act. The directions for CACI 2505 recognize that a pattern of acts that might not each be enough on their own can, taken as a whole, amount to retaliation. That is why the dated log matters: small changes only show a pattern when they are written down.

What changes the answer?

These are the facts that most often shape what an employer owed you and what claims you may have.

Who the harasser was

For a coworker, customer or vendor, the question under section 12940(j)(1) is whether the employer knew or should have known and failed to act. For a supervisor, CACI 2521A lets liability rest on the fact that a supervisor engaged in the conduct. In every case, section 12940(j)(3) makes the individual employee who harassed you personally liable.

How serious or frequent the conduct was

The jury instruction asks whether the conduct was severe or pervasive. Government Code section 12923(b) adds that a single incident can be enough to create a triable issue of a hostile work environment if it unreasonably interfered with your work or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment. Section 12923(a) says you do not need to prove your productivity declined, and section 12923(c) says a discriminatory remark can be relevant evidence even if made by someone who was not the decision-maker.

Your role and the size of the employer

FEHA's harassment ban protects employees, applicants, unpaid interns, volunteers and people providing services under a contract (section 12940(j)(1)). According to the CRD, it applies in every workplace regardless of size, while the discrimination ban and the training duty apply to employers of five or more.

Whether you are still employed

If you were fired or forced out after the report, the retaliation claim sits alongside any harassment claim, and a firing may also support a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy. Different deadlines can apply to each claim.

Whether a settlement or separation agreement is offered

Under Code of Civil Procedure section 1001, a settlement provision that prevents or restricts disclosure of factual information about a filed claim of workplace harassment, discrimination or retaliation is prohibited for agreements made on or after January 1, 2022 (sections 1001(a)(3) and (g)). At the claimant's request, the agreement can shield the claimant's identity (section 1001(c)), and the amount paid can still be kept confidential (section 1001(e)). Separation agreements offered when employment ends have their own rule: they cannot bar you from disclosing information about unlawful acts in the workplace, and any nondisparagement clause must include specific language saying so (Government Code section 12964.5(b)). Our page on whether to sign a severance agreement explains the other limits on those agreements.

A worked example

For example, imagine a hypothetical receptionist at a Glendale property management office. Over several weeks a sales manager from another department makes repeated comments about her body and, once, blocks the doorway of the supply room. She tells the office manager in person on a Monday and sends a short email that evening describing what she reported. Nothing changes for two weeks. Then her shifts are cut from five days to three, and her next review mentions "attitude" for the first time.

Several rules apply. Because the harasser is a manager, the analysis may differ from a coworker case, and either way he is personally liable under section 12940(j)(3). Her email fixes the date the employer knew. The cut in hours after her complaint is the kind of adverse action CACI 2505 addresses, and she does not have to prove the harassment itself to pursue retaliation. She has three years from the last harmful act to file with the CRD.

She keeps a dated log, saves the email outside company systems, and asks in writing for her personnel file. None of this tells her how a claim would end. It tells her what the employer owed her, which deadlines are running, and what record to build.

Common mistakes after reporting harassment

• Reporting only in person. Without a written follow-up, the date the employer knew can become a dispute.
• Recording conversations in secret. California requires every party's consent to record a confidential conversation; our page on whether you can record your boss in California explains the rule and lawful alternatives.
• Keeping evidence only on company systems. Save copies of messages you received in a place you will not lose when access is cut off.
• Waiting for the internal process to finish. The three-year CRD window keeps running during an internal investigation. Our table of employment claim deadlines shows how the limits fit together.
• Treating small changes as unrelated. A reduced schedule, a new critical review or exclusion from meetings can form a retaliation pattern when logged together.
• Signing a release without review. A settlement can keep the amount confidential, but not the facts of a filed harassment claim.

What to do this week

1. Confirm the report in writing. If you have not already, send a short, factual email summarizing what you reported, to whom and when.
2. Keep a dated log. Record any further incidents, the employer's response, interviews with investigators, and any changes to your schedule, duties or reviews.
3. Save what was sent to you. Keep copies of messages, emails and screenshots you received, outside company systems you could lose access to.
4. Request your records. Ask in writing for your personnel file and payroll records; our page on getting your personnel file and payroll records has the deadlines.
5. Keep doing your job well and follow the employer's complaint procedure, so the record shows a reliable employee who raised a concern.
6. If you were fired, use our checklist for the first week after being fired in California.
7. Get advice early, before any meeting about discipline or any agreement is signed.

Frequently asked questions

Is one incident enough to count as harassment?

It can be. Government Code section 12923(b) says a single incident of harassing conduct can create a triable issue of a hostile work environment if it unreasonably interfered with your work or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment.

Can I hold the harasser personally responsible?

Yes. Section 12940(j)(3) makes an employee who harasses a coworker personally liable, whether or not the employer knew or acted. The employer's own liability is a separate question.

I work for a very small business. Am I protected?

Yes, against harassment. The CRD says harassment is prohibited in all workplaces, even those with fewer than five employees, although the broader discrimination rules apply to employers of five or more.

I am a contractor or volunteer, not an employee. Does this apply to me?

FEHA's harassment ban covers unpaid interns, volunteers and people providing services under a contract (section 12940(j)(1)), and the CRD says they may file a harassment complaint.

Do I also need to file with the federal EEOC?

Not separately in most cases. The CRD says a complaint filed with it that alleges facts violating a law the EEOC enforces is automatically filed with the EEOC too, although the CRD will usually investigate.

Who pays the lawyer in a harassment case?

That depends on the claims and the agreement you make with the lawyer. Our page on who pays the lawyer in a California employment case explains the fee rules under FEHA.

How can Glendale Law help?

We help clients document what happened, identify who knew about it, and hold the responsible parties accountable. We can advise you while you are still employed, respond to retaliation, and prepare a CRD complaint when it is time. Workers in Glendale can read about local agencies and courts on our Glendale employment lawyer page. Call (818) 244-9000 or request a consultation.