Los Angeles Workplace Sexual Assault Attorney

If you were sexually assaulted or harassed at work in the Los Angeles area or anywhere in California, you have the right to hold both the perpetrator and, in many cases, your employer legally accountable. For over 30 years, Los Angeles attorney Steven M. Sweat has represented survivors of sexual violence and abuse, fighting to recover full compensation while treating every client with discretion and respect. Workplace cases are some of the most sensitive matters we handle, and you do not have to navigate the process alone.

A workplace sexual assault claim is not the same as an ordinary employment law dispute, and it is not the same as a standard workplace injury claim. It sits at the intersection of civil sexual assault law and California’s employment protections — which means you may have more than one path to recovery. Understanding those paths is the first step toward protecting your rights.

Workplace Sexual Assault vs. Sexual Harassment: Two Legal Tracks

California law treats unwanted sexual conduct at work under two overlapping frameworks. Many survivors qualify under both, and pursuing them together often produces a stronger result.

Sexual harassment (the employment track). Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), employers are prohibited from subjecting employees to sexual harassment. This covers two recognized forms — quid pro quo harassment, where job benefits are conditioned on submitting to sexual demands, and hostile work environment harassment, where conduct is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment.

Sexual assault and battery (the personal injury track). When the conduct involves unwanted physical contact — groping, forced touching, or rape — it is also a civil assault and battery, which are personal injury torts entirely separate from FEHA. These claims often carry a longer filing deadline and can support significant damages for the physical and psychological harm caused.

Because these tracks have different rules, deadlines, and defendants, it is critical to have the facts evaluated by an attorney who handles both. Pursuing only the employment claim can leave substantial compensation on the table.

California Laws That Protect You at Work

Employees of every gender are protected from unwanted sexual advances on the job. Under FEHA, your employer can be held liable when conduct such as the following occurs:

• Unwanted physical or verbal advances — blocking, groping, touching, or sexual comments and propositions
• Sexually degrading verbal abuse, including obscene messages or graphic commentary about a person’s body
• Displaying sexual imagery, leering, or making derogatory sexual remarks
• Demanding sexual favors in exchange for a job, a promotion, or other employment benefits
• Threatening or carrying out retaliation against an employee who refuses a sexual demand

These complaints are now handled by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) — the agency formerly known as the Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH), which was renamed effective July 1, 2022. The CRD investigates workplace sexual harassment and discrimination complaints and issues the right-to-sue notices that allow a civil lawsuit to proceed.

Can My Employer Be Held Liable?

Often, yes. Whether — and how — an employer is responsible depends on who committed the conduct:

When a supervisor is the harasser. If the person who harassed or assaulted you was a supervisor, manager, or agent of the company, the employer is generally held strictly liable under FEHA — meaning the company is responsible even if upper management did not know what was happening.

When a coworker or third party is the harasser. If the harasser was a non-supervisory coworker, customer, or vendor, the employer can still be liable under a negligence standard — if it knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.

Negligent hiring, retention, and supervision. Where an actual sexual assault occurs, the employer may also face personal injury liability for putting a dangerous employee in a position to cause harm — for example, hiring or keeping on a worker it knew, or should have known, posed a risk. This theory frequently drives the largest recoveries, especially where the employer ignored prior complaints. It mirrors the negligent security principles we use to hold property owners accountable when a foreseeable assault is allowed to happen.

New Legal Protections Every California Worker Should Know

Recent legislation has significantly strengthened the rights of workplace sexual assault and harassment survivors. If your information about your options is more than a few years old, it is almost certainly out of date.

Your Deadline to File Is Now Three Years — Not One

For years, employees had only one year to bring an administrative complaint. That changed with Assembly Bill 9 (the Stop Harassment and Reporting Extension Act), effective January 1, 2020, which extended the deadline to file a complaint with the state agency from one year to three years. If you were told you were out of time under the old one-year rule, you may still have a viable claim.

You May Not Be Bound by a Forced Arbitration Agreement

Many employers require workers to sign arbitration agreements that force disputes into private proceedings. The federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA), signed into law on March 3, 2022, allows survivors to void those pre-dispute arbitration clauses and class-action waivers for sexual assault and sexual harassment claims — at the survivor’s choice. That means you may have the right to take your case to court before a judge and jury, even if you signed an arbitration agreement when you were hired.

Your Employer Cannot Silence You With an NDA

California’s Silenced No More Act (SB 331), effective January 1, 2022, prohibits settlement and separation agreements from containing provisions that prevent you from disclosing factual information about workplace sexual harassment, sexual assault, or discrimination. Before you sign any severance, release, or non-disclosure agreement, have an attorney review it — you may be giving up far more than you realize.

Do I Have to Report to My Employer Before Filing a Claim?

Many people wrongly believe they must report to their employer before they can seek justice. The reality is more nuanced. If the person who harmed you was a member of management, the employer can be held responsible even if no one else in upper management knew. Where a non-supervisory coworker was involved, an employer may try to reduce its exposure by arguing that it never had the chance to correct the situation — particularly if it maintained a genuine anti-harassment program and acted promptly once notified.

That is why it is generally wise to document and report the conduct when it is safe to do so. But a failure to report does not automatically end your case. Even if you never filed an internal complaint, you should still speak with a lawyer, because your assault or battery claim may proceed on an entirely separate track from the FEHA process.

Statute of Limitations for Workplace Sexual Assault and Harassment

Deadlines in these cases are strict, and the right one depends on the type of claim. Because more than one clock may apply, you should never assume it is too late without speaking to an attorney.

• FEHA harassment or discrimination claim: You generally have three years to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (under AB 9). After the CRD issues a right-to-sue notice, you typically have one year to file the lawsuit in court.
• Civil sexual assault or battery claim: California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16 generally allows an adult survivor to sue within ten years of the assault, or three years from discovering an injury caused by the assault — whichever is later. This is independent of the FEHA deadline.

California has also, at times, opened limited revival windows for previously time-barred adult sexual assault claims. These provisions are complex and time-sensitive, which is one more reason to have your case reviewed promptly rather than risk losing the right to recover.

Compensation You May Be Able to Recover

A successful workplace sexual assault or harassment claim can recover several categories of damages, depending on the facts:

• Economic damages — lost wages, lost earning capacity, the cost of finding new employment, and medical or psychological treatment expenses
• Non-economic damages — emotional distress, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, humiliation, and loss of enjoyment of life
• Punitive damages — available where the conduct involved malice or oppression, or where the employer ratified or participated in the wrongdoing
• Attorney’s fees and costs — recoverable by a prevailing employee under FEHA, in addition to your other damages

Every case is different, and no outcome can be guaranteed. You can review a sampling of our firm’s verified case results, which include a $1,500,000 recovery for the sexual assault of a patient in a mental health facility, a $1,000,000 negligent-security recovery for the sexual assault of a tenant, and a $45,000 settlement for a female employee sexually harassed by a male supervisor at work.

Past results are no guarantee or warranty of future results. Every case must be evaluated on its own merits.

What to Do If You Were Sexually Assaulted or Harassed at Work

1. Get to safety and seek medical care. Your health comes first. If you were assaulted, prompt medical attention also helps preserve important evidence.
2. Report a crime to law enforcement. Physical sexual assault is a crime; a police report can support both criminal and civil proceedings.
3. Document everything. Write down dates, times, locations, what was said or done, and the names of any witnesses while the details are fresh.
4. Preserve evidence. Save texts, emails, voicemails, photos, and any other records. Do not delete anything.
5. Report internally when it is safe to do so. Following your employer’s reporting procedure can strengthen a FEHA claim, but understand that not reporting does not bar you from recovery.
6. Talk to an attorney before signing anything. Do not accept a severance offer, release, or non-disclosure agreement until a lawyer has reviewed it.

Why Survivors Choose Steven M. Sweat

Workplace sexual assault cases demand both legal skill and genuine compassion. Attorney Steven M. Sweat brings over 30 years of California personal injury and survivor advocacy experience to every case, and is recognized by Super Lawyers, the National Trial Lawyers Top 100, and the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Our firm handles these matters on a contingency-fee basis — there is no fee unless we recover for you — and we offer free, confidential consultations in English and Spanish (Se Habla Español).

Frequently Asked Questions

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