Los Angeles Sexual Harassment Lawyer
You Deserve a Safe Workplace. We Enforce That Right.
Bluestone Law represents Los Angeles employees facing sexual harassment in the workplace. We work on contingency — no fees unless we win.
Sexual Harassment in Los Angeles: What the Law Actually Requires
If you were sexually harassed at work in Los Angeles, California law protects you no matter how small your employer is, and it does not cap what you can recover. Those two facts separate California from federal law, and they are the reason most Los Angeles harassment cases are brought under the Fair Employment and Housing Act rather than Title VII.
FEHA recognizes two forms of sexual harassment. Quid pro quo harassment ties a job benefit or detriment to submitting to sexual conduct. Hostile work environment harassment is conduct severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of your employment. For harassment claims specifically, FEHA covers employers with one or more employees (Gov. Code § 12940(j)), not the fifteen that federal law requires.
One point employers and their insurers routinely get wrong: since 2019, California law states that a single incident can be enough to create a hostile work environment, and that harassment cases are rarely appropriate for summary judgment (Gov. Code § 12923). You do not have to prove a long pattern before a lawyer will take your case seriously.
A Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer at Bluestone Law will review your situation in a free consultation, confidentially and with no obligation. Call (310) 363-0975.
What Sexual Harassment Looks Like in Los Angeles Workplaces
Los Angeles employment spans entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, logistics, retail, and technology, and the harassment patterns differ by industry. In practice these are the situations we see most:
- A supervisor conditioning shifts, roles, promotions, or continued employment on a sexual relationship
- Persistent comments, jokes, images, or advances from coworkers that management knows about and tolerates
- Unwanted physical touching, or being cornered or followed at work
- Harassment by a client, customer, patient, or vendor that the employer failed to address
- Harassment that continues after you reported it, followed by discipline, schedule cuts, or termination
- Conditions becoming so intolerable that you felt forced to resign, which California treats as a constructive discharge
Harassment by non-employees counts. An employer is liable for harassment by clients or customers if it knew or should have known and failed to take immediate corrective action (Gov. Code § 12940(j)(1)).
If what happened to you is not on this list, it may still be unlawful. The statute is written broadly, and the question is always how the conduct affected your working conditions.
Signed an Arbitration Agreement? It May Not Stop You
Most Los Angeles employees signed an arbitration agreement in their onboarding paperwork and assume it forces their harassment claim into private arbitration. Since March 2022 that is frequently wrong.
The federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA) (9 U.S.C. §§ 401–402) gives the person alleging sexual harassment the option to void a pre-dispute arbitration agreement and proceed in court. The choice belongs to you, not your employer, and it applies to claims that arose on or after March 3, 2022, regardless of when you signed.
This matters because arbitration is private, the damages awarded tend to be lower, and there is no jury. Bring your arbitration agreement to your free consultation. Whether to invoke this right is a strategic decision worth making deliberately.
California also limits what a settlement can silence. Under the Silenced No More Act (Gov. Code § 12964.5), a settlement cannot bar you from disclosing factual information about workplace harassment.
What a Los Angeles Sexual Harassment Case May Be Worth
There is no formula, and any lawyer who gives you a number before reading your documents is guessing. What can be described is the categories of recovery and what drives them.
| Category | What it covers | What drives it up |
|---|---|---|
| Lost wages, past and future | Pay and benefits lost through termination, demotion, or forced resignation | Length of unemployment; seniority; difficulty finding comparable work |
| Emotional distress | Anxiety, depression, sleep loss, and treatment | Severity and duration; medical or therapy records; testimony from people who saw the change |
| Punitive damages | Punishment for malice, oppression, or fraud | Whether an officer, director, or managing agent authorized or ratified the conduct (Civ. Code § 3294) |
| Attorney’s fees and costs | Paid by the employer when you prevail | Statutory under Gov. Code § 12965; it is why small cases remain viable |
Why California cases are worth more than federal ones
| California (FEHA) | Federal (Title VII) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cap on emotional distress and punitive damages | None | $50,000 to $300,000 combined, by employer size (42 U.S.C. § 1981a(b)(3)) |
| Employer size covered for harassment | 1 or more employees | 15 or more employees |
| Deadline to file with the agency | 3 years with the Civil Rights Department | 300 days with the EEOC |
For a rough estimate based on your own facts, use our case value calculator, then read how sexual harassment settlements are actually valued in California.
Deadlines That Can End Your Case
California deadlines are strict, and they are the most common reason a good claim becomes unfilable. These are the ones that matter most:
| Step | Deadline | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| File a complaint with the Civil Rights Department (CRD) | 3 years from the last act of harassment | Gov. Code § 12960(e) |
| File suit after receiving a right-to-sue notice | 1 year from the notice | Gov. Code § 12965 |
| File with the EEOC instead (federal claims) | 300 days | 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e) |
| Claims against a public entity | Additional government claim requirements apply, often within 6 months | Gov. Code § 911.2 |
Represented employees usually request an immediate right-to-sue so the case moves on our schedule rather than the agency’s. If you are close to a deadline, call today. Preserving the claim takes priority over everything else.
Filing a Sexual Harassment Claim in Los Angeles
Los Angeles employment cases are typically filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, with civil matters heard downtown at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse, 111 N. Hill Street. Administrative complaints go to the CRD Los Angeles District Office, 320 W. 4th Street, Suite 430, or to the EEOC’s Los Angeles office.
What the process actually looks like:
- Free consultation and document review. Bring your offer letter, handbook, arbitration agreement, any HR complaints, and messages.
- CRD filing and right-to-sue. We normally request an immediate right-to-sue notice to preserve the claim and control timing.
- Filing suit and discovery. Discovery reaches the employer’s investigation file, prior complaints against the same harasser, and internal communications. Prior complaints are often the most valuable evidence in the case.
- Mediation. Most cases resolve here.
- Trial. The cases that do not settle go to a jury. That possibility is what sets settlement value, which is why it matters whether your firm actually tries cases.
Official guidance is available from the California Civil Rights Department, and the statute itself is published at Government Code § 12940.
Who You Will Be Working With
Rotem Tamir is the founding attorney of Bluestone Law (California State Bar #328968; J.D. cum laude, Loyola Law School, Order of the Coif). He began his career defending employers at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck before moving to the plaintiff side. That matters in a harassment case for a specific reason: he knows how a company investigates a complaint, what its insurer looks at when setting reserves, and how a botched or pretextual internal investigation can be used against the employer in discovery.
He has also taken an employment case to a jury verdict in Los Angeles County Superior Court. That matters on a harassment case even when it settles, because what an employer offers is set by what it believes will happen if the case is actually tried.
Savana Dulberg (California State Bar #368726) works with clients through the discovery and deposition phases, which in harassment cases is where the employer’s own records usually decide the outcome.
Bluestone Law is rated 4.9 out of 5 across 110 Google reviews. Every consultation is a free, confidential case review, and every case is handled on contingency, so there is no fee unless we win. Se habla español. Read Rotem’s full attorney profile.
Where We Represent Employees Across Los Angeles County
We represent employees throughout Los Angeles County. Which courthouse hears your case generally depends on where you worked:
- Central Los Angeles (Downtown, Koreatown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, Boyle Heights, Hollywood, West Hollywood) — Stanley Mosk Courthouse
- Westside (Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City, Westwood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades) — Santa Monica or Stanley Mosk
- San Fernando Valley (Van Nuys, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Studio City, North Hollywood, Burbank, Glendale, Woodland Hills, Canoga Park, Northridge) — Van Nuys or Chatsworth; see our San Fernando Valley sexual harassment lawyer page
- South and East County (Long Beach, Torrance, Inglewood, Compton, Pasadena, Pomona, El Monte, Norwalk) — the corresponding district courthouse
Our office is at 7008 Owensmouth Ave., Canoga Park, CA 91303. Consultations are available by phone, by video, or in person, and we appear in courthouses across the county.
Frequently Asked Questions: Sexual Harassment in Los Angeles
Do I have to report to HR before I can sue?
No. There is no requirement to exhaust an internal complaint process before filing with the Civil Rights Department or bringing suit. Reporting can strengthen a case, because an employer that ignored a complaint faces a failure-to-prevent claim under Gov. Code § 12940(k) and greater punitive exposure. But if reporting feels unsafe, that does not cost you your claim.
I signed an arbitration agreement. Is my case over?
Probably not. For sexual harassment claims arising on or after March 3, 2022, federal law lets you void a pre-dispute arbitration agreement and proceed in court. The choice is yours. Bring the agreement to your free consultation.
What if the harasser is a client or customer, not an employee?
Your employer can still be liable. Under Gov. Code § 12940(j)(1) an employer is responsible for harassment by non-employees when it knew or should have known and failed to take immediate corrective action. Restaurant, hospitality, healthcare, and retail cases frequently take this form.
How long do I have to file?
Generally three years from the last act of harassment to file with the Civil Rights Department, then one year from your right-to-sue notice to file suit. Federal EEOC claims must be filed within 300 days. Public employers carry additional, much shorter claim requirements.
Can I be fired for reporting harassment?
Not lawfully. Retaliation for reporting harassment or participating in an investigation is a separate violation under Gov. Code § 12940(h), and it is often the stronger claim. A termination shortly after a complaint draws hard scrutiny from a jury.
Can men be sexually harassed at work?
Yes. FEHA protects all employees regardless of gender, and harassment does not have to be motivated by sexual desire to be unlawful. Same-sex harassment is covered.
What does a Los Angeles sexual harassment lawyer cost?
Nothing upfront. We work on contingency, meaning a percentage of the recovery, and under Gov. Code § 12965 a prevailing employee can also recover attorney’s fees from the employer. Consultations are free. See our guide to what an employment lawyer costs in California.
I already quit. Is it too late?
No. Quitting does not waive your claim, and if the harassment made conditions intolerable, the resignation itself may be a constructive discharge carrying lost-wage damages. See suing for a hostile work environment after you quit.
Talk to a Los Angeles Sexual Harassment Lawyer Today
If you were sexually harassed at work in Los Angeles, the two things that matter most right now are preserving your evidence and preserving your deadline. Save your messages, write down what happened while it is fresh, and do not sign anything your employer puts in front of you before you have had it reviewed.
Bluestone Law represents employees only. We never represent employers. Call (310) 363-0975 or use the form on this page for a free, confidential consultation. There is no fee unless we win. Se habla español.