I work through a staffing agency. Who is responsible for harassment?

California law can hold a staffing agency, a host company that controlled your work, or both responsible for sexual harassment, depending on the facts. FEHA looks at the conduct and control rather than only the formal employer label.

Does my employer's size affect my protection?

No. California's FEHA prohibits sexual harassment by employers of any size, which is broader than other FEHA claims requiring at least five employees. Direct employees and agency placements alike are covered.

I did not report it right away. Can I still pursue it?

Yes, in most cases. A delay in reporting does not automatically end a sexual harassment claim. People often wait until they feel safe to come forward, and what matters is whether the conduct occurred and that you act within the applicable deadlines.

What is the deadline to file in California?

FEHA cases generally begin with a complaint to the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), and you usually have three years from the last harassing act to file. Because deadlines vary, consulting an attorney promptly is wise.

What does a consultation cost?

An initial review is confidential and comes with no obligation. Many California employment matters are handled on contingency, meaning attorney fees depend on a recovery rather than upfront payment. Terms are explained clearly before any representation begins.

San Jose Sexual Harassment Lawyer

San Jose employees have the right to work without enduring unwanted sexual conduct. Under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), your workplace must be free of sexual harassment — whether that means a supervisor tying your job to tolerating advances, or a pattern of demeaning behavior that makes the environment hostile. Our employment practice serves San Jose workers across its technology campuses, contract and gig roles, healthcare systems, and the service economy that supports Silicon Valley, with confidential, respectful guidance available in English and Armenian. If your job no longer feels safe, you deserve clear, judgment-free answers about your rights.

Sexual Harassment matters in San Jose

Sexual harassment in San Jose''s tech-driven economy

San Jose anchors Silicon Valley, and its workforce reflects that: large technology employers, a deep bench of contractors, vendors, and staffing-agency placements, plus the healthcare, manufacturing, and service jobs that keep the region running. A defining feature here is layered employment — many people work through staffing firms or as contractors embedded at a client company, which can blur who is responsible when something goes wrong. California law looks past those labels to the conduct itself.

There are two recognized forms of sexual harassment. Quid pro quo harassment ties a job benefit — a conversion to full-time, a promotion, a renewed contract, or continued placement — to submitting to sexual conduct. A hostile work environment exists when unwelcome conduct is severe or pervasive enough to alter your working conditions, including persistent comments, propositions, unwanted touching, or sexual material in the workplace or in messaging tools.

Any size employer, and harassers beyond your manager

A key protection in a contractor-heavy economy: 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 are a direct employee or placed through a staffing agency, you are protected.

The harasser may be a supervisor, a coworker, or a non-employee — a client, a vendor, or someone at the company where you are placed. When an employer, including a staffing agency or a host company that controlled your work, knew or should have known of the conduct and failed to act, it can be held responsible.

Retaliation and reporting on your own timeline

In a market driven by referrals, renewals, and reputation, many workers fear that complaining will end a contract or quietly close doors. California law makes retaliation a separate violation. If your placement ends, your contract is not renewed, or you are demoted or disciplined after a good-faith complaint, that can be its own claim. And reporting late does not end your claim — people speak up when they feel safe, and the law accounts for that.

Santa Clara County courts and protecting evidence

San Jose is the seat of Santa Clara County, and employment lawsuits for San Jose workers are generally filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court, which hears civil matters for the region. Most FEHA claims begin with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) before any lawsuit.

If it is safe, keep a dated log of what happened, save any messages or emails, and note who witnessed the conduct. You do not need a finished file to reach out. A confidential conversation is simply a way to understand your rights.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.