Can my employer retaliate against me for filing a sexual harassment claim?

Under California law, employers are not allowed to retaliate against employees who file a sexual harassment claim or report sexual harassment in the workplace. Retaliation is illegal even if the sexual harassment claim ultimately fails or the employee is unable to show that harassment occurred. An employee who participates in a sexual harassment investigation or appears as a witness in another worker’s lawsuit is also protected from retaliation. 

Retaliation occurs when an employer subjects an employee to negative treatment as “revenge” for filing a complaint or reporting sexual harassment in good faith. While retaliation can take many forms, some examples include giving a worker a bad performance review or cutting their work hours.

Unfortunately, many employees avoid speaking up about sexual harassment out of fear that reporting it will have a negative impact on their employment. If you have experienced retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment in the workplace, discuss your situation with an experienced employment law attorney. Erlich Law Firm can advise you of your legal rights.

Other Sexual Harassment FAQs:

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My parents were heavily involved in community organizing. Seeing neighbors and friends’ parents struggle in the workplace gave me a sense of purpose that I wanted to help others. Many employees feel helpless and powerless in the workplace, and helping them vindicate their rights is the right thing to do.

- Jason Erlich

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Jason took the time to explain and guide me through the challenging process, and went the extra steps in consistently providing guidance and putting my concerns and questions high on their list.

Jeff V., Oakland

When employees' legal rights are violated, we take time to explain their legal options, listen to their goals, and aggressively argue their case until we achieve the resolution they deserve.

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