Walking into work every day should feel safe. It should be a place where you can focus on your tasks, collaborate with colleagues, and earn a living without fear or discomfort. But for too many people in Los Angeles, the workplace becomes a source of anxiety due to sexual harassment.
It takes immense courage to speak up. You gather your evidence, you take a deep breath, and you walk into Human Resources to file a formal complaint. You expect them to help. You expect them to stop the behavior. But what happens when weeks go by, and the harassment continues? What happens when you see your harasser every day, acting as if nothing happened, while HR remains silent?
If you find yourself in this frustrating and painful situation, you are likely wondering if your employer is breaking the law by failing to act. The short answer is: Yes, they absolutely can be held liable.
The Company’s Duty to Act
When we talk about sexual harassment law in California, we aren’t just talking about the individual who is harassing you. We are also looking at the entity that signs your paycheck. Under both federal law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act) and California’s powerful Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), employers have a strict legal obligation to prevent and correct harassment.
Once you put a company on notice, meaning you have reported the behavior to a supervisor or HR, the clock starts ticking for them. They cannot simply file your complaint in a drawer and hope it goes away. They are required to conduct a prompt, impartial, and thorough investigation.
If they fail to investigate, or if they investigate but refuse to take appropriate corrective action to stop the harassment, they become complicit. By allowing the behavior to continue, they are effectively ratifying the harasser’s actions. This failure to act is often the key factor that turns a single complaint into a lawsuit for creating or maintaining a hostile work environment.
Defining a “Hostile Work Environment”
It is important to understand what this legal term actually means. A hostile work environment isn’t just a boss who is rude or a coworker who is annoying. In the eyes of the law, specifically here in Los Angeles and throughout California, a hostile work environment exists when sexual harassment is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of your employment and create an abusive working atmosphere.
When you report harassment and the company does nothing, the environment almost inevitably worsens. The message sent to the workforce is that inappropriate touching, lewd comments, or unwanted advances are tolerated.
To hold the company liable, a lawyer will typically look for evidence that:
- You were subjected to unwelcome sexual conduct.
- The conduct was based on your sex or gender.
- The conduct was severe or pervasive.
- The employer knew (or should have known) about the conduct and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
That fourth point is where the company’s inaction becomes their legal downfall. If you handed them the information and they sat on their hands, they are responsible for the hostile environment that persists.
Why HR Might Not Be Helping
It is a hard truth to swallow, but Human Resources works for the company, not for you. Their primary goal is often to protect the business from liability. Sometimes, they do this correctly by stopping harassment immediately. Other times, they try to protect the company by minimizing your complaint, hoping you will give up, or protecting a high-performing manager who is doing the harassing.
They might tell you that “it’s just a misunderstanding” or that “he didn’t mean it that way.” They might move you to a different desk instead of moving the harasser (which can be considered a form of retaliation).
When HR fails to do their job, you need someone who actually works for you. This is where an experienced sexual harassment lawyer Los Angeles CA steps in. We look at the company handbook, the email trails, and the timeline of events to prove that the company had the power to fix the situation but chose not to.
California Law is on Your Side
Living in Los Angeles gives you access to some of the strongest worker protections in the country. California law is generally broader than federal law. For example, under FEHA, an employer is strictly liable for harassment committed by a supervisor, regardless of whether the company knew about it.
If the harasser is a coworker (not a supervisor), the company is liable if they knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
Furthermore, California law requires employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring. If you reported the issue and nothing changed, they have arguably failed this fundamental statutory requirement.
Document Everything
If you are currently in this limbo where you have reported the issue but the harassment is continuing, your documentation is your best weapon.
- Keep a Journal: Write down dates, times, and details of every incident of harassment.
- Save Communications: Keep copies of the emails you sent to HR and any responses you received. If you had verbal meetings, send a follow-up email summarizing what was discussed (“Just to confirm our conversation today, I stated that…”) so there is a paper trail.
- Note the Lack of Action: Specifically document that the behavior is continuing despite your report.
You Don’t Have to Quit to Sue
Many people believe they have to quit their job before they can take legal action. This is not true. You can file a claim while you are still employed. However, if the environment becomes so unbearable that a reasonable person in your position would feel compelled to resign, this is known as “constructive discharge.” If you are forced to quit because the company refused to fix the hostile environment, you may be entitled to lost wages and other damages.
We Are Here to Fight for You
No one should be forced to endure sexual harassment just to earn a paycheck. If you did the right thing by reporting the behavior and your company failed to protect you, they have failed in their legal duty. You deserve justice, and you deserve compensation for the emotional distress and hostile environment they allowed to fester.
At Karns & Karns Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys, we understand the complexities of California employment law. We know how to hold negligent companies accountable. We are ready to listen to your story and help you determine the best path forward.
Don’t let a company’s silence silence you. Call a Los Angeles sexual harassment attorney today at 1-800-4-THE-WIN (1-800-484-3946). Let’s get to work on winning your peace of mind back.
