Nobody should have to brace themselves before walking into work. If a manager, coworker, or even a customer is demeaning you, mocking you, or making your job unbearable because of who you are, that is not "just how the workplace is." It may be illegal harassment under California law, and you have the right to make it stop.
Labor Law PC is a workplace harassment lawyer serving Los Angeles employees, and only employees. We never represent employers. From our Santa Monica office we represent workers across the LA metro area, from hotel housekeepers in downtown Los Angeles to studio staff in Burbank, nurses in Glendale, and warehouse workers near the ports in Long Beach and Torrance. We know how California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) protects you, and we know how to hold employers accountable when they let harassment continue.
If any of what follows sounds like your workplace, call us at (877) 775-2267 for a free, confidential consultation. You pay nothing unless we win.
Every situation below has its own detailed guide, the warning signs, the California law behind your claim, and what you may be able to recover.
Workplace harassment is unwelcome conduct, whether words, actions, or images, that demeans, ridicules, or humiliates you because of a protected characteristic. Under the FEHA, those protected characteristics include:
Harassment is not always an obvious slur. California courts recognize veiled and indirect harassment too. Some real-world patterns we see in Los Angeles workplaces:
Protection runs in every direction. You are covered regardless of whether you belong to a minority or majority group, and harassment is still unlawful when the harasser shares your race, gender, or other protected trait. Employees, job applicants, independent contractors, unpaid interns, and volunteers are all protected from harassment under California law.
California gives harassed workers some of the strongest protections in the country, and they go well beyond federal law.
The FEHA harassment ban applies to every employer. While FEHA discrimination rules cover employers with 5 or more employees, the harassment provisions of Government Code section 12940(j) apply to employers of any size, even a business with a single employee. Federal law (Title VII) only reaches employers with 15 or more.
Harassers can be personally liable. Under the FEHA, the individual who harassed you can be sued personally, not just the company. That matters when a serial harasser hides behind a corporate employer.
Employers are automatically responsible for supervisor harassment. When the harasser is your supervisor or manager, your employer is strictly liable under California law. When the harasser is a coworker, customer, or vendor, the employer is liable if it knew or should have known and failed to take immediate, appropriate corrective action. This is one reason documenting and reporting harassment is so important.
The "severe or pervasive" standard is worker-friendly in California. Harassment becomes unlawful when it creates a hostile work environment, meaning conduct severe or pervasive enough to alter your working conditions. In 2019, California enacted SB 1300 and Government Code section 12923, which confirm that a single severe incident can be enough, that you do not need to show your work performance actually declined, and that these cases should rarely be thrown out before trial.
You generally have three years to act. California law generally gives you three years from the most recent incident of harassment to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD, formerly the DFEH), which is a required step before filing a FEHA lawsuit. Shorter deadlines can apply in some situations, including claims against public entities and cases headed to federal court, so deadlines vary. Talk to a lawyer promptly rather than assuming you have time.
Most FEHA harassment claims begin with a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department, which issues a right-to-sue notice that allows a civil lawsuit. For LA workers, those lawsuits are typically filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court system, one of the busiest trial courts in the nation, or in the federal Central District of California when federal claims are involved. We practice in these courts and know the local landscape.
We also know the industries that dominate this market, because harassment shows up differently in each of them. On studio lots and production sets in Burbank and Hollywood, temporary crews and freelance hierarchies let harassers move from project to project. In hospitality and restaurants from Santa Monica to downtown, tipped workers absorb abuse from customers because management tells them to. In healthcare, logistics, garment, and retail, immigrant workers are harassed by supervisors who assume they will not complain. The FEHA protects every one of these workers regardless of immigration status, and we have built our practice around enforcing it.
Every case is different and no outcome is ever guaranteed, but California courts have awarded harassment victims:
Harassment already costs you enough. Our consultations are free, and we take workplace harassment cases on a contingency basis: no retainer, no hourly bills, no out-of-pocket expenses. Our fee comes out of the recovery we obtain for you, and if there is no recovery, you owe us nothing.
General rudeness or an "equal-opportunity" bully is usually not illegal harassment, because the FEHA requires a link to a protected characteristic. But bullies rarely distribute their abuse evenly. If the worst treatment lands on workers of a particular race, sex, age, religion, or other protected group, it may be unlawful. An attorney can help you spot the pattern.
Not necessarily, but reporting matters. When the harasser is a coworker or customer, your employer generally must have known about the harassment to be liable, and a written complaint proves it knew. Reporting also protects you because retaliation for a good-faith harassment complaint is itself illegal.
Firing, demoting, cutting hours, or otherwise punishing you for reporting harassment is unlawful retaliation under the FEHA. If it happens, it often becomes a separate claim that strengthens your case. If you are afraid to report, talk to us first and we can help you do it safely.
Generally three years from the most recent incident to file with the California Civil Rights Department, and then typically one year to sue after receiving a right-to-sue notice. Shorter deadlines apply in some circumstances, so do not wait to get advice.
Purely personal conflict is not covered by the FEHA. But harassment tied to disability, age, religion, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or any other protected trait is. Sometimes the connection is subtle, like comments about your accent or "energy level." It costs nothing to have us evaluate it.
No. You are not required to confront your harasser. The law asks whether the conduct was unwelcome, not whether you pushed back in the moment. Many people freeze or stay quiet to protect their job, and that does not weaken your rights.
Harassment is about conduct: slurs, ridicule, intimidation, and other behavior that creates an abusive environment. Discrimination is about decisions: hiring, pay, promotion, discipline, and firing. They frequently occur together, and we regularly pursue both claims in a single case.
Talk to a lawyer before you resign if you possibly can. Quitting can affect your claims and your unemployment benefits, and in some cases staying while you document strengthens your position. If conditions are truly intolerable, a resignation may qualify as a constructive discharge, but that is a legal conclusion best reached with advice, not in the heat of the moment.
From our Santa Monica headquarters, Labor Law PC represents harassed workers throughout Los Angeles County, including Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Glendale, Pasadena, Burbank, Torrance, Long Beach, Inglewood, and the San Fernando Valley, as well as employees across California.
You do not have to keep enduring it, and you do not have to figure this out alone. Call (877) 775-2267 or contact us online for a free, confidential consultation. Hablamos Español. No fees until we win.
Every case gets a team that listens, keeps you informed, and fights like it matters. Because to you, it does.
California Regulations
California continues to be a leader in creating safe, inclusive, and knowledgeable work environments through rigorous employee training programs. Recent updates…
Read article
Sexual Harassment
Sexual violence in the workplace is a pervasive and damaging form of misconduct that violates individuals’ rights, undermines workplace safety, and…
Read article
Sexual Harassment
Quid pro quo harassment is a type of workplace harassment that occurs when an employee issubjected to unwanted advances or requests…
Read articleFree, confidential, and privileged. No win, no fee.
