You reported sexual harassment to your company’s HR department and expected them to investigate and take corrective action. But nothing happened. Maybe they dismissed your complaint, conducted a cursory investigation, or told you the behavior “wasn’t that serious.” Maybe the harassment got worse after you reported it.
If HR is not helping, you are not out of options. California law does not depend on your employer’s internal processes to protect you from sexual harassment. There are external agencies, legal protections, and legal claims available to employees whose employers fail to act.
Why HR May Not Be on Your Side
It is important to understand that HR departments work for the company, not for individual employees. While HR professionals may genuinely want to help, their primary obligation is to protect the organization from liability. In some cases, that means minimizing or burying complaints rather than addressing them.
Common ways HR fails to address sexual harassment include:
- Telling the employee the behavior does not constitute harassment without conducting an investigation
- Conducting a superficial investigation that does not include interviewing witnesses or reviewing evidence
- Taking the harasser’s word over the complainant’s without further inquiry
- Failing to take corrective action after confirming the behavior occurred
- Advising the employee to “work it out” with the harasser directly
- Retaliating against the employee who reported the harassment
None of these responses satisfy the employer’s legal obligations under California law.
Your Employer’s Legal Duty Under FEHA
Under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), employers have an affirmative legal duty to prevent and correct sexual harassment in the workplace. This is not optional. Government Code section 12940(k) makes it unlawful for an employer to fail to take all reasonable steps necessary to prevent discrimination and harassment from occurring.
When it comes to employer liability for sexual harassment, California law distinguishes between two situations:
- Harassment by a supervisor: The employer is strictly liable. This means the employer is legally responsible for the supervisor’s harassment whether or not anyone in management knew about it.
- Harassment by a coworker or non-employee: The employer is liable if it knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
In either scenario, an employer that ignores a report of sexual harassment is exposing itself to significant legal liability. The fact that HR “didn’t help” does not shield the company—it actually strengthens your claim by demonstrating that the employer failed its legal duty to act.
What “Immediate and Appropriate Corrective Action” Means
FEHA requires employers to take “immediate and appropriate corrective action” when they become aware of harassment. This means the employer must conduct a thorough, objective, and timely investigation and take steps reasonably designed to end the harassment and prevent it from recurring.
An adequate employer response typically includes:
- Promptly initiating an investigation
- Interviewing the complainant, the accused, and relevant witnesses
- Reviewing any available documentary evidence (emails, messages, security footage)
- Taking interim protective measures (such as separating the parties during the investigation)
- Reaching a determination and communicating the outcome to the parties involved
- Implementing corrective measures proportionate to the severity of the conduct
If your employer skipped these steps or conducted a sham investigation, that failure can serve as evidence in your legal claim. For more on recognizing the signs of sexual harassment in the workplace, see our related post.
Steps to Take When HR Fails to Act
If your internal complaint has gone nowhere, here is what you should do next.
1. Document everything. Keep detailed records of every incident of harassment, including dates, times, locations, what was said or done, and who witnessed it. Also document your communications with HR—when you reported, what you said, and what response you received. Save copies of emails, texts, and any written correspondence. These records are critical evidence.
2. Put your complaint in writing. If you reported verbally, follow up with a written complaint to HR (via email) so there is a documented record. Describe the harassment in specific, factual terms. This creates a paper trail that makes it harder for the employer to claim it was not aware of the problem.
3. File a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department. You do not need your employer’s permission or cooperation to file an external complaint. The CRD is the state agency that enforces FEHA. You can file a complaint online, and you have three years from the date of the harassment or retaliation to do so. If you want to proceed directly to court, you can request an immediate “right to sue” notice when you file.
4. File a complaint with the EEOC. If you file with the CRD and your complaint also alleges a violation of federal law (such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act), it will be automatically cross-filed with the EEOC. You also have the option of filing directly with the EEOC, though FEHA generally provides broader protections for California employees.
5. Consult a California employment attorney. An attorney experienced in sexual harassment cases can assess the strength of your claims, advise you on the best course of action, and handle the legal process on your behalf. Cases involving HR failures often give rise to multiple legal claims, including sexual harassment, failure to prevent harassment, and retaliation.
You Do Not Have to Exhaust Internal Remedies Before Filing a Legal Claim
A common misconception is that you must go through your employer’s entire internal complaint process before you can take legal action. That is not the case under California law. You are required to file an administrative complaint with the CRD (or EEOC) before filing a lawsuit, but you are not required to complete or even initiate your employer’s internal grievance procedures first.
That said, reporting internally can be helpful for your case because it establishes that the employer was on notice of the harassment. But if HR is unresponsive or hostile, you should not let that delay you from pursuing your legal rights through external channels.
HR’s Failure to Act Can Support Additional Legal Claims
When HR ignores or mishandles a sexual harassment complaint, it does more than leave you without a remedy at work. It can give rise to a separate legal claim under Government Code section 12940(k): failure to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment.
This claim is distinct from the underlying harassment claim. Even if you face challenges proving the harassment itself, you may still be able to demonstrate that your employer failed in its legal duty to investigate and take corrective action. Employers in California with five or more employees are also required to provide sexual harassment prevention training to all employees and to maintain a written anti-harassment policy. Failure to comply with these requirements can be used as additional evidence of the employer’s negligence.
Additionally, if your employer retaliated against you for making the complaint—whether through termination, demotion, reduced hours, or hostile treatment—that is a separate violation of Government Code section 12940(h). For more on how sexual harassment is defined under California law, including examples of conduct that crosses the legal line, see our post on sexual harassment examples in California.
Contact Malk Law Firm
If your HR department has failed to address sexual harassment in your workplace, you do not have to accept that outcome. California law provides strong protections for employees, and there are legal avenues available to you regardless of what HR does or does not do. At Malk Law Firm, we represent employees throughout California in sexual harassment, retaliation, and failure-to-prevent claims against employers.
Contact us today for a confidential consultation to discuss your situation and learn what options are available to you.
