How to File a Workplace Harassment Complaint in California and What to Expect

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Last updated: March 2026 — Reflects CRD 2025 Harassment Prevention Guide and current FEHA enforcement

By the time most people decide to file a harassment complaint, they have already reported the conduct internally, waited for a response, and concluded that the situation will not resolve on its own. At that point the question shifts from whether to act to how.

The process runs through California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD), and knowing how each stage works before you file is the difference between a complaint that preserves all your options and one that inadvertently narrows them.

Workplace harassment in California is governed by the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code Section 12940 et seq. FEHA covers employers with as few as one employee for harassment claims, prohibits harassment based on a wider list of protected characteristics than federal law, and provides uncapped damages.

For a broader context on how FEHA fits into California’s employee protections, see our guide to California employment law. If the harassment led to a termination or forced resignation, the California wrongful termination analysis runs alongside and should be assessed at the same time.

What California Law Defines as Harassment

Under FEHA, harassment is unwelcome conduct based on a protected characteristic that is either severe enough to alter the terms of employment in a single incident or pervasive enough to create a hostile and abusive work environment.

The protected characteristics under Government Code Section 12940 include race, religion, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, medical condition, age (40 and over), marital status, military status, and reproductive health decision-making, among others. See the CRD’s official employment protections page at calcivilrights.ca.gov/employment for the complete list.

California draws a distinction federal law does not: FEHA does not require conduct to be severe and pervasive. Conduct that would interfere with a reasonable person’s work performance or create an intimidating environment can be sufficient on its own.

This matters practically for employees whose situations involve a sustained pattern of lower-level conduct rather than a single dramatic event. The March 2025 CRD Harassment Prevention Guide, which replaced prior DFEH guidance, explicitly confirmed that harassment delivered through email, messaging platforms, or video calls carries the same legal weight as in-person conduct.

Employer liability differs depending on who harasses. Employers are strictly liable when a supervisor is the harasser. When the harasser is a coworker, vendor, or client, the employer is liable if it knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take prompt corrective action. The full text of the governing statute is at Government Code §12940.

Before You File: Building Your Record

A harassment complaint is only as strong as the evidence behind it. The period between the harassing conduct and the filing of a complaint is the window for preservation — and some of that window closes permanently once employment ends.

• Keep a written incident log: date, time, location, what was said or done, who was present, and your immediate response. Write each entry as close to the event as possible.

• Preserve all communications. Screenshot texts, emails, and messaging platform content from the harasser or from supervisors who were notified. Back up anything on employer systems before your access is cut off.

• Record every internal complaint: the date, the recipient, the form (verbal or written), and the employer’s response. If you reported verbally, follow up in writing to create a paper trail.

• Document changes after you reported. Reassignment, reduced hours, exclusion from meetings, or adverse performance reviews following a complaint are potential retaliation — note them with specificity.

If the harassment intersected with a tangible employment decision — a denied promotion, a pay cut, a demotion — that compounds the claim beyond harassment into discrimination territory. The California Workplace Discrimination FEHA Claim Checker is a practical starting point for evaluating whether a discrimination claim runs alongside your harassment complaint.

Filing the CRD Complaint

Who is covered

Any employee, applicant, unpaid intern, volunteer, or independent contractor who experienced harassment based on a FEHA-protected characteristic can file. There is no minimum employer size for harassment — this is a specific carve-out from the five-employee threshold that applies to discrimination claims. Immigration and citizenship status are not factors; the CRD does not inquire.

The filing deadline

The complaint must be filed within three years of the most recent harassing act, per the AB 9 extension that took effect January 1, 2020. For ongoing harassment, the clock resets with each new incident.

Early filing is consistently the better choice: evidence is more accessible, witnesses are easier to locate, and you retain more strategic flexibility in how the case proceeds.

How the complaint is submitted

Complaints are filed online through the CRD portal at calcivilrights.ca.gov/complaintprocess. The portal collects the employer’s identity, the nature of the conduct, the dates, the protected characteristic at issue, and whether any internal reports were made.

The language does not need to be legal; accuracy matters more than precision. If federal claims under Title VII are also in play, you can request dual filing during submission — the CRD and the EEOC maintain a worksharing agreement that routes the complaint to both agencies from a single filing.

CRD investigation or immediate right-to-sue

After filing you have a choice. You can allow the CRD to investigate — a process that typically runs six to eighteen months — or you can immediately request a right-to-sue notice, which the CRD issues within approximately five to ten business days.

The right-to-sue notice starts a one-year clock to file a civil lawsuit in Superior Court. Most employees with counsel request the immediate notice. It preserves full strategic control, allows broader civil discovery, and does not foreclose the option of resolving the matter before trial.

What to Expect After the Complaint Is Filed

Employers who receive a CRD complaint are required to submit a position statement. If you choose the CRD investigation route, the agency may interview witnesses, request documents, and attempt mediation. If the CRD finds sufficient evidence, it can file a formal accusation. If it does not, it issues a right-to-sue notice and closes the administrative record — your civil lawsuit right remains intact.

In civil litigation, discovery in harassment cases focuses on the employer’s internal investigation records, HR files, and communications surrounding the conduct at issue.

Employers who cannot produce documentation showing a prompt, impartial investigation — the standard the 2025 CRD Guide now defines in practical detail — face a difficult failure-to-prevent defense at trial. The Guide’s clarifications mean that courts and juries will increasingly evaluate employers against a clearer documented baseline.

Retaliation for filing the CRD complaint is independently actionable under FEHA Section 12940(h). Under SB 497 (effective January 1, 2024), any adverse action taken within 90 days of a protected activity like filing a harassment complaint triggers a rebuttable presumption of retaliation — the burden shifts to the employer to explain it.

Documenting what changes in your employment after the complaint is filed is as important as documenting the harassment itself. For employees assessing what resolution might look like, our guide on how to win the best wrongful termination settlement in California covers how damages are evaluated and what factors drive settlement value.

When Harassment Ends in Termination

Harassment that culminates in a discharge — or that creates conditions so intolerable a reasonable employee feels compelled to resign — adds a California wrongful termination claim to the picture.

A constructive discharge is treated identically to a termination under California law and supports both an FEHA claim and a Tameny public policy tort. Both theories are encompassed within a single CRD complaint; an attorney structures the filing to preserve all of them.

Damages in a successful case include back pay, front pay, uncapped emotional distress compensation, and attorney’s fees as a matter of right under Government Code Section 12965(b). Punitive damages are available where the employer’s conduct reflects malice, fraud, or oppression.

Harassment claims in California are procedurally specific and time-sensitive. The attorneys in the 1000Attorneys.com network handle FEHA harassment and California wrongful termination cases on contingency. If you are weighing your options, a conversation with an attorney who has taken these cases through the CRD and into litigation will tell you more about your specific position than any general guide can.

Government Sources Referenced in This Article:

•  California Civil Rights Department — Employment Protections: calcivilrights.ca.gov/employment

•  California Legislature — Government Code §12940 (FEHA): leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

•  California Civil Rights Department — Complaint Process: calcivilrights.ca.gov/complaintprocess

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. California employment law is highly fact-specific. For guidance on your particular situation, consult a licensed California employment attorney.