California Workplace Sexual Harassment Laws 2025 – Know Your Rights

Sexual harassment continues to be a major workplace problem that impacts employees throughout California. California workplace sexual harassment laws protect workers by mandating employers to implement measures thwarting harassment.

Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), employees can find legal solutions when they face inappropriate behavior from a supervisor or when they are dealing with a hostile work environment created by colleagues. Employees and employers must both understand these laws to create a workplace that respects legal requirements and maintains mutual respect.

Sexual Harassment in California

California law defines sexual harassment as any unsolicited behavior based on sex which results in an intimidating or hostile work environment. The two main groups of sexual harassment recognized by law include hostile work environment and quid pro quo harassment. These classifications establish what unlawful workplace behavior employees might face and create a legal structure to hold employers responsible.

Quid Pro Quo Harassment

Quid pro quo harassment happens when supervisors or authority figures offer employment benefits like promotions or salary raises in return for sexual favors. This form of harassment takes advantage of power differences between supervisors and subordinates, making it especially coercive.

It is also quid pro quo harassment if a supervisor threatens a subordinate with repercussions for refusing sexual favors. An employer commits quid pro quo harassment when they threaten an employee with job termination to force them into accepting a date. Under California law, employers could face legal liability if a supervisor suggests that an employee needs to enter into a romantic relationship to advance in their career.

Only individuals who control employment decisions have the ability to commit quid pro quo harassment. Coworkers have the ability to engage in different types of harassment, but they can only legally commit quid pro quo harassment if they hold supervisory positions.

Hostile Work Environment Harassment

Hostile work environment harassment exists without direct threats to employment. It happens when unwelcome sexual behavior becomes so widespread or extreme that it makes the workplace offensive or intimidating. Hostile work environment harassment can include:

• Sexual jokes or innuendos, especially overtly offensive ones
• Unwanted physical contact
• Displaying or sharing sexually explicit images

• Making offensive remarks about a person’s gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, or asking for explicit details about their intimate life

It’s important to note that sexually explicit images do not necessarily have to be pornographic in nature. Sharing images of women in bathing suits while commenting on their bodies to workers, for example, can be deemed reasonably offensive.

The determination of whether a work environment is hostile depends on whether the behavior would offend a reasonable person. Employers could face liability when employee conduct becomes severe enough to disrupt job performance.

California Employer Training Requirements

California requires employers to complete stringent training protocols to prevent workplace sexual harassment. The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requires employers who meet specific employee thresholds to conduct periodic harassment prevention training.

• For supervisory employees, training must be conducted every two hours and the training must be two hours long.
• New supervisors must be trained within six months of hire or promotion.
• All other employees must be trained about sexual harassment and their rights if they are harassed.

Workplace Harassment Requirements

For a behavior to be considered workplace harassment, certain aspects must be present. Workplace behavior qualifies as harassment only when it is unwanted by the person experiencing it. The requirement for workplace harassment to be unwelcome does not demand that victims explicitly object to all occurrences. Employees often endure unacceptable behavior because they worry about losing their positions or facing negative repercussions.

Legal authorities apply both subjective and objective criteria to assess if harassment took place. The subjective standard evaluates if the person experienced personal offense from the conduct while the objective standard determines if an average person in the same situation would have found the conduct offensive.

An employee must demonstrate that workplace conduct was either severe or pervasive to establish a legitimate hostile work environment claim. One extreme physical assault incident alone can meet the criteria for sexual harassment. A hostile work environment develops when employees experience repeated offensive comments alongside inappropriate jokes and persistent unwelcome advances despite each action being only mildly offensive individually.

FAQs About California Sexual Harassment Law

What Is the Workplace Harassment Policy in California?

The workplace harassment policy in California is the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The FEHA mandates that California employers establish measures to both prevent and respond to workplace harassment. Employers need to create an explicit anti-harassment policy while delivering continuous training to employees and responding quickly to any harassment claims.

What Is Not Considered Harassment in the Workplace?

Workplace conflicts and negative interactions do not automatically meet the definition of harassment. Isolated rude comments along with reasonable discipline and constructive criticism usually fall beneath the legal standard for harassment. Workplace conduct becomes harassment when it is both unwelcome and based on protected traits while being severe enough to create a hostile work environment or affecting employment conditions.

What Are the Three Types of Harassment in the Workplace?

Workplace harassment typically falls into three categories: sexual harassment, discriminatory harassment, and workplace bullying. Sexual harassment encompasses both hostile work environments and quid pro quo harassment.

Discriminatory harassment singles out people because of their race, gender, age or other protected characteristics. Although workplace bullying consists of repeated mistreatment, it only becomes illegal when connected to protected characteristics.

What Three Factors Determine Workplace Harassment?

The determination of workplace harassment requires three essential elements. First, the behavior should be one that the victim finds undesirable. Second, the behavior must involve a protected characteristic under the law, which includes gender identity, racial background, age range, or disability status. Third, the behavior must demonstrate either severe intensity or widespread occurrence.

Contact the Law Offices of Corbett H. Williams

Sexual harassment is unlawful and can have a drastic effect on the life of the victim and others in the workplace. When it happens, those responsible should be held accountable. The Law Offices of Corbett H. Williams can help you seek justice. If you have suffered sexual harassment, contact us today.