Sexual Harassment matters in San Diego
Sexual harassment in San Diego workplaces
San Diego''s economy spans biotech and life sciences in the Torrey Pines and Sorrento Valley corridors, a large technology and defense-contracting base, a sprawling hospitality and tourism sector along the coast and in the Gaslamp, and major healthcare and university systems. These environments range from buttoned-up corporate campuses to fast-moving restaurants and hotels — and harassment can surface in any of them, taking different shapes depending on the setting.
California recognizes two forms. Quid pro quo harassment ties a job benefit — a promotion, a research role, a desirable shift, or continued employment — to submitting to sexual conduct. A hostile work environment exists when unwelcome conduct is severe or pervasive enough to alter your working conditions, whether through repeated comments, propositions, unwanted touching, or sexual displays in the workplace.
Protection regardless of employer size
A foundational protection: FEHA''s prohibition on sexual harassment applies to employers of any size, broader than other FEHA claims that require five or more employees. Whether you work at a large biotech firm in Sorrento Valley or a small restaurant in the Gaslamp, you are covered.
The harasser need not be a supervisor. California law reaches conduct by supervisors, coworkers, and non-employees — a client, a hotel guest, a vendor, or a contractor present at your worksite. When the employer knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take prompt, effective action, it can be held liable.
Retaliation and reporting when you feel ready
In competitive, reputation-driven fields, many workers fear that complaining will cost them a promotion, a reference, or their place on a team. California law treats retaliation as a separate violation. If you are terminated, demoted, removed from a project, or disciplined after a good-faith complaint, that can be its own claim. And a delay in reporting does not end your claim — people speak up when they feel safe, and the law recognizes that.
San Diego courts and preserving evidence
San Diego workers'' employment cases are generally filed in the San Diego County Superior Court, which hears civil matters for the region. Most FEHA claims begin with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) before any lawsuit is filed.
If it is safe to do so, keep a dated log of what happened, save any texts or emails, and note who witnessed the conduct. You do not need a complete file to reach out. A confidential conversation is simply a way to understand your rights and the path forward.
Our attorney
How Mihran M. Ghazaryan helps with sexual harassment
Mihran M. Ghazaryan handles these matters with discretion and care. He preserves the messages, reports, and witness accounts before they disappear, evaluates both the harassment and any retaliation that followed, and holds the employer to its duty to prevent and stop it. He explains your options plainly — including what reporting and not-yet-reporting mean for your claim — and pursues the full range of relief the law provides.
Types of sexual harassment cases we handle
Quid pro quo harassment
A supervisor tying a raise, promotion, schedule, or continued employment to sexual demands.
Hostile work environment
Severe or pervasive unwelcome conduct — comments, advances, messages, touching — that a reasonable person would find abusive.
Retaliation for reporting
Punishment after you complained about harassment is itself unlawful, and the timing is often strong evidence.
Remedies
What you may be able to recover
Every sexual harassment case case is different, but California law lets wronged employees pursue several categories of relief. We document each one — pay records, performance reviews, communications — so nothing is left on the table.
Back pay and lost benefits
Wages, commissions, and benefits you lost from the date of the wrongful act — a core remedy in wrongful-termination and discrimination claims.
Front pay
Future earnings you're likely to lose when reinstatement isn't realistic, measured until you can reasonably be expected to find comparable work.
Emotional distress
Compensation for the anxiety, humiliation, and harm to wellbeing that unlawful treatment at work can cause.
Penalties and punitive damages
Statutory penalties for wage violations, and — where an employer acted with malice or oppression — punitive damages meant to deter the conduct.
Attorney's fees and costs
Many California employment statutes shift the employee's reasonable attorney's fees and costs onto an employer that broke the law.
Reinstatement and policy change
Where it fits the case, getting your job back or forcing the employer to correct the practice that harmed you.
How we work
- 1
Free, confidential consultation
We listen first and tell you plainly whether you appear to have a claim. The conversation is confidential and there's no fee to have it — and we're careful if you're still employed.
- 2
Preserve the record
Offer letters, handbooks, performance reviews, emails and texts, pay stubs, and a dated timeline. The contemporaneous record is what wins an employment case, so we lock it down early.
- 3
Administrative exhaustion and the demand
FEHA claims generally require a complaint with the Civil Rights Department and a right-to-sue notice first. We handle that step, then present a documented demand to the employer.
- 4
Litigation when necessary
Many matters resolve through negotiation or mediation. When an employer won't be reasonable, we file and prepare the case fully — which is usually what moves the number.
What to do right away
- Save harassing messages, emails, and texts — and screenshot anything that might be deleted.
- Keep a dated log of incidents and who witnessed them.
- Report through your employer's process where safe; their response (or lack of one) matters.
- Preserve everything to a personal account.
- Talk to a lawyer about your options before signing anything or resigning.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
Deadlines that matter
Most California FEHA claims require a complaint with the Civil Rights Department first — generally within three years of the discrimination, harassment, or retaliation (Gov. Code §12960). You then have one year from the right-to-sue notice to file in court.
Other employment deadlines run on their own clocks — unpaid-wage claims generally reach back three years (up to four under the UCL), and a wrongful-termination-in-violation-of-public- policy claim runs two years. Federal EEOC charges can be far shorter.
Exceptions exist in both directions — discovery rules, minors, continuing violations, out-of-state defendants — so don't assume your deadline has passed or that you have time to spare. Call (818) 539-7969 and we'll tell you exactly where you stand.
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