Los Angeles Workplace Harassment Lawyer

Workplace Harassment Lawyer Los Angeles, CA

If you’ve been subjected to harassment at work based on your race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation, age, or another protected characteristic, California law gives you the right to take action. Employers have a legal obligation to prevent this conduct and address it when it happens. When they fail, they can be held accountable.

Our Los Angeles, CA workplace harassment lawyer at Bloom Fudali represents employees who have experienced harassment that made their jobs unbearable. We take these cases on contingency, so you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you. If harassment has affected your ability to do your job or forced you out of a position you worked hard to earn, contact us for a free consultation.

Why Choose Bloom Fudali for Workplace Harassment Cases in Los Angeles, CA?

Attorneys Who Handle Harassment Claims Across Industries

Workplace harassment looks different depending on the industry, the power dynamics involved, and the characteristics being targeted. A construction worker facing racial slurs deals with something different than an office employee enduring subtle but persistent gender-based hostility. Both situations violate California law, but building the cases requires understanding how harassment manifests in different environments.

We have represented clients in entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, retail, corporate offices, and blue-collar industries. We’ve handled cases involving explicit misconduct that left no doubt about what was happening, and we’ve handled cases where the harassment was quieter but no less damaging. The common thread is employers who either participated in the conduct or allowed it to continue when they should have stopped it.

Lisa Bloom founded Bloom Fudali in 2010 after building a career representing victims against powerful institutions and individuals. She earned her J.D. from Yale Law School in 1986. Her cases have included representing a client who alleged a KKK-style sheet was hung over his workstation, one of many examples of the workplace hostility she has confronted over three decades. Super Lawyers has recognized her every year since 2015, and she appears regularly on CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC as a legal analyst.

Arick Fudali serves as Partner and Managing Attorney. Before turning to civil rights litigation, he prosecuted criminal cases in Broward County, Florida, developing the skills to build cases from evidence and present them persuasively. He graduated from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and holds bar licenses in California, New York, and Florida. Since 2011, he has focused on representing employees in harassment and discrimination matters.

Our employment lawyer in Los Angeles, CA handles the claims that frequently accompany harassment cases, including retaliation, wrongful termination, and discrimination.

What We’ve Recovered

Our firm has won millions of dollars for employees in harassment, discrimination, and employment cases. We have taken on employers who believed their resources would outlast our clients’ resolve, and we have proven them wrong. When companies allow harassment to persist, we make sure they face consequences.

How We Charge

Contingency. You pay nothing upfront and owe nothing unless we win. We structure our fees this way because pursuing justice should not depend on having money in the bank.

What Clients Say

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“Bloom Fudali was there for me when I needed them most. They fought hard and never gave up. I would recommend them to anyone who needs an attorney who truly cares.” — Margaret Jacob, Client

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Types of Workplace Harassment Cases We Handle in Los Angeles

Workplace harassment becomes illegal when it targets employees because of protected characteristics and becomes severe or pervasive enough to affect working conditions. Here’s what we see:

• Racial harassment. Slurs, racist jokes, offensive imagery, comments about accents or national origin, and patterns of exclusion based on race or ethnicity. Sometimes the conduct is blatant. Other times it operates through microaggressions and differential treatment that accumulates until the message becomes clear. Both forms violate California law when they create hostile conditions. We’ve handled cases involving explicit racial hostility and cases where the discrimination was subtler but equally damaging.
• Sexual harassment. Unwanted advances, comments about bodies or appearance, touching without consent, sexual jokes, explicit images, and quid pro quo demands that tie job benefits to sexual favors. Sexual harassment remains one of the most common forms of workplace misconduct, and employers continue to tolerate it despite decades of legal developments making their liability clear.
• Gender-based harassment. Not all gender harassment involves sexual content. Some involves hostility toward women in male-dominated fields, toward men in roles traditionally held by women, or toward anyone who doesn’t conform to expected gender norms. Comments suggesting women don’t belong in certain positions, treatment designed to push someone out, and conduct targeting gender expression all violate California law.
• Disability harassment. Mocking medical conditions, imitating physical limitations, making comments about accommodations, and treating disabled employees as burdens rather than colleagues. These cases frequently accompany failure-to-accommodate claims. The employer harasses the employee while also refusing to provide reasonable accommodations required by law.
• Religious harassment. Ridiculing someone’s faith, pressuring employees to participate in religious activities that conflict with their beliefs, making comments about religious dress or practices, and creating environments where employees of certain faiths feel unwelcome. California law requires employers to stop this conduct when they become aware of it.
• Age-based harassment. Older employees hear comments about being out of touch, get excluded from projects involving new technology, face constant suggestions about retirement, and watch younger colleagues receive opportunities they’re denied. When age-related harassment becomes pervasive enough to alter working conditions, it supports legal claims.
• Hostile work environment. This is the legal framework for most workplace harassment claims. The conduct must be based on a protected characteristic and must be severe or pervasive enough to change the conditions of employment. A single extreme incident can qualify, but more often these cases involve patterns of conduct that build over time.
• Retaliation. You reported harassment. Your employer responded by making your work life worse instead of addressing the problem. Retaliation for reporting harassment is itself illegal and creates a separate claim. These claims sometimes produce larger damages than the underlying harassment because punishing employees for coming forward is so clearly wrong.

California Legal Requirements for Workplace Harassment

California’s workplace harassment laws provide strong protections for employees. Understanding them helps clarify what your employer was required to do and why they may face liability.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits harassment based on protected characteristics including race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, and military or veteran status. FEHA applies to employers with five or more employees and imposes obligations to prevent harassment and respond appropriately when it occurs.

Under FEHA, employers are strictly liable for harassment committed by supervisors. This means the company is responsible even if upper management claims they had no knowledge of the supervisor’s conduct. For harassment by coworkers, employers face liability when they knew or should have known about the behavior and failed to take immediate corrective action.

California Government Code Section 12940 details these requirements. It also prohibits retaliation against employees who report harassment, file complaints, or participate in investigations. Punishing someone for opposing harassment creates independent liability.

The California Civil Rights Department enforces FEHA and investigates workplace harassment complaints. Before filing a lawsuit, employees typically must obtain a right-to-sue notice from this agency.

Federal law provides additional protection through Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees. California law often provides broader coverage, but you may have claims under both.

California’s Department of Industrial Relations provides additional resources for workers facing unsafe or hostile conditions, including information about filing complaints and understanding your rights.

You have three years from the last act of harassment to file an administrative complaint with the Civil Rights Department. Waiting too long can permanently eliminate your ability to pursue a claim, regardless of how clear the evidence might be.

Important Aspects of a Los Angeles Workplace Harassment Case

Workplace harassment cases depend on proving a pattern of conduct, showing your employer’s failure to respond, and demonstrating the harassment was serious enough to alter your working conditions. These elements shape how cases develop.

Building Your Evidence

Start documenting now. Write down what happened, when it happened, who did it, who witnessed it, and what was said or done. Be specific about dates and times. Save every email, text message, voicemail, and photograph that relates to the harassment. Screenshot communications before they can be deleted. The evidence you gather and preserve will form the foundation of your case. Many victims don’t realize how much immediate documentation affects their ability to pursue claims later.

Reporting to Your Employer

For coworker harassment, your employer’s liability often depends on whether they knew about the conduct. Report incidents through your company’s designated channels, typically HR. Report in writing whenever possible so you have a record. Keep copies of every complaint you submit. Document whether and how your employer responded. If they ignored you, conducted a cursory investigation, or allowed the harassment to continue, their failure becomes central to your case.

Your Employer’s Response

Did your employer take your complaint seriously? Did they investigate promptly? Did the harassment stop? Employers who respond appropriately to complaints may limit their liability. Employers who dismiss concerns, conduct sham investigations, or fail to take corrective action face significant exposure. How they handled the situation matters as much as what originally happened.

The Legal Standard

California law requires harassment to be severe or pervasive to create a hostile work environment. Not every offensive comment qualifies. One extreme incident might be enough, such as a physical assault or explicit threat. More commonly, harassment claims involve repeated conduct that accumulates over weeks or months until conditions become intolerable. Understanding this standard helps you evaluate whether your experience rises to the level of a legal claim.

Connecting to Protected Characteristics

General workplace bullying, while unpleasant, may not violate FEHA unless it connects to a protected characteristic. The harassment must target you because of your race, sex, religion, disability, or another protected status. Our attorneys analyze whether the conduct you experienced fits within FEHA’s framework. Cases involving job discrimination based on protected characteristics frequently overlap with harassment claims.

What You Can Recover

Employees who prove workplace harassment may recover damages for emotional distress, lost wages if they were terminated or forced to resign, and punitive damages in cases involving particularly egregious conduct. The amount depends on the severity and duration of harassment and its impact on your life and career. Cases involving harassment based on multiple protected characteristics may support additional claims.

Contact Bloom Fudali

Workplace harassment takes a real toll. It affects your ability to do your job, your mental health, your relationships outside work, and sometimes your physical wellbeing. California law recognizes this harm and holds employers accountable when they allow it to happen.

We offer free consultations to evaluate your situation and explain your options. Our contingency fee arrangement means you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. We have represented employees facing racial hostility, sexual misconduct, disability harassment, religious discrimination, and other forms of workplace abuse throughout Los Angeles.

You should not have to endure harassment as the price of keeping your job. If your employer has allowed a hostile environment to develop and refused to fix it, contact Bloom Fudali. We will fight to hold them accountable.

Types of Workplace Harassment Cases We Handle

Workplace harassment can take many forms, and it is not always limited to one type of behavior. In some cases, it involves repeated comments or actions, while in others it may stem from a single serious incident. When this conduct is tied to protected traits or becomes severe enough, you’ll need your Los Angeles workplace harassment lawyer to step in and support you. Bloom Fudali is ready to use our decades of experience to help you protect your rights. Take a look at the harassment-related matters we handle, and contact us today.

• Harassment Based On Race: Repeated remarks, jokes, or conduct tied to race or ethnicity can create a hostile work environment. These cases often involve patterns that show ongoing unequal treatment.

• Gender-Based Harassment: Employees may face unfair treatment, comments, or conduct based on gender. As your work harassment attorney can explain, this behavior can affect job performance and workplace conditions over time.

• Sexual Harassment: Unwanted advances, comments, or conduct of a sexual nature may support a claim. Your workplace misconduct attorney will focus on how frequent and severe the behavior is.

• Disability-Related Harassment: Employees with disabilities may experience mocking, exclusion, or unfair treatment. These actions can interfere with their ability to perform their job.

• Religious Harassment: Treatment based on religious beliefs or practices may include offensive comments or pressure to change behavior. These situations may violate workplace protections.

• Harassment Based On National Origin: You should contact your LA workplace harassment lawyer if comments or conduct tied to a your background, accent, or culture have created a hostile setting. These claims often involve repeated behavior over time.

• Age-Based Harassment: Older employees may face jokes, negative remarks, or pressure related to their age. This type of conduct can affect job security and opportunities.

• Harassment By Supervisors: When a manager engages in inappropriate conduct, the impact can be more serious due to their authority. These cases often involve pressure or fear of retaliation.

• Harassment By Coworkers: Inappropriate behavior is not limited to supervisors. Coworkers may also create a hostile environment, and employers may be responsible if they fail to act.

• Harassment By Third Parties: Some employees face misconduct from clients, customers, or vendors. Employers may still have a duty to address this behavior when it affects their staff.

• Retaliation After Complaints: Reporting harassment should not lead to discipline, reduced hours, or termination. If negative action follows a complaint, it may point to retaliation – but your job harassment claim lawyer can protect you.

• Failure To Address Complaints: Employers are expected to respond to reports and take reasonable steps to stop the behavior. When complaints are ignored or handled poorly, the situation may continue.

Contact Us Today

At Bloom Fudali, we take a straightforward approach to these matters. We review the facts, explain your options, and help you decide how to move forward. It’s how we’ve secured millions of dollars for our clients, and we’re ready to represent you next. If you believe you have experienced harassment at work, reach out to us today to discuss your situation with a Los Angeles workplace harassment lawyer from our team.

Workplace Harassment Statistics in Los Angeles

Harassment complaints are on the rise at both the federal and state levels, and Los Angeles is part of one of the nation’s most active enforcement regions. Workers here file charges with two separate agencies, and both reported heavier caseloads in their most recent data. The trend line has pointed up for three consecutive years.

• The EEOC received 88,531 discrimination charges in fiscal year 2024, an increase of more than 9% over the prior year, according to the agency’s FY 2024 performance data.
• Title VII sexual harassment charges reached 7,732 in FY 2023, up from 6,201 the year before, per EEOC harassment data.
• California’s Civil Rights Department launched 6,089 investigations and secured nearly $100 million in relief for complainants in 2024, based on its 2024 annual report.
• In 2023, the department processed 14,982 right-to-sue requests from employees preparing to file their own employment lawsuits, per CRD annual reporting.

These figures count only the people who came forward. Many employees endure hostile conduct for months without filing anything, worried about their paycheck or their reputation. Our Los Angeles workplace harassment lawyer reads this data differently than an employer does.

Mistakes That Can Damage Your Workplace Harassment Claim

Defense lawyers look for the same handful of missteps in nearly every case. A Los Angeles, CA workplace harassment attorney can often work around them, but avoiding them from the start protects your leverage.

1. Waiting too long to speak up. For coworker harassment, your employer’s liability often turns on when they knew, so late reports shrink the window of conduct they can be held responsible for. And filing deadlines run whether or not you feel ready.
2. Keeping every complaint verbal. A hallway conversation with a manager is easy to deny later. Put reports in writing, even a short email confirming what you said. That single habit has changed the outcome of cases.
3. Deleting the evidence. Offensive texts and images are painful to keep. Save them anyway. Screenshot messages before the sender removes them, and back up anything stored on a work device you could lose access to overnight.
4. Posting about the case online. Social media is discoverable. A single frustrated post can be twisted into proof that you exaggerated, or that your emotional distress claim is overstated. Say nothing publicly while your matter is pending.
5. Quitting without talking to an attorney first. Sometimes leaving is the right call for your health. But resigning can complicate your damages, and proving you were forced out involves a demanding legal standard. Get advice before you turn in notice whenever that is possible.
6. Assuming HR works for you. Human resources protects the company. Cooperate with the process, report through proper channels, and stay professional. Just do not treat HR as your advocate or share strategy with them.
7. Handling the fallout alone. Victims of workplace sexual misconduct tend to repeat five common mistakes that weaken otherwise strong claims, and most of them come from acting without counsel. A workplace harassment lawyer in Los Angeles can correct course early, before small errors become defense exhibits.

Los Angeles Workplace Harassment Lawyer FAQs

How Much Does a Workplace Harassment Attorney in Los Angeles Cost?

Nothing upfront. Bloom Fudali works on contingency, meaning our fee is a percentage of what we recover for you. If we recover nothing, you owe nothing. This structure lets employees take on well-funded employers without paying hourly rates, and it means our interests align with yours from day one.

How Long Do I Have to File a Harassment Claim in California?

You generally have three years from the last act of harassment to submit an intake form to the Civil Rights Department, under Government Code 12960. Federal deadlines are shorter. Because the clock starts from specific incidents, an attorney should calculate your deadline rather than guessing.

Do I Have to Report to HR Before I Can Sue?

Not always, but reporting matters. For coworker harassment, your employer’s responsibility often depends on whether they knew about the conduct and failed to act. A written complaint removes their ability to claim ignorance. We can help you word that report carefully before you send it.

Can I Be Fired for Complaining About Harassment?

Firing you for reporting harassment is illegal, and it creates its own Los Angeles retaliation claim separate from the harassment itself. Retaliation also includes demotions, cut hours, sudden discipline, and exclusion from meetings. Document any change in treatment that follows your complaint, with dates.

What Compensation Can I Recover?

California law allows recovery of lost wages, future lost earnings if your career was derailed, and emotional distress damages for the psychological toll. Punitive damages are available in egregious cases. The value depends on the severity of the conduct, how long it lasted, and how your employer responded.

What if the Harassment Targets My Sexual Orientation?

Sexual orientation is a protected characteristic under California law, and hostile treatment based on it supports the same claims as racial or sex-based harassment. We handle sexual orientation discrimination matters regularly, including employees who were fired after coming out at work.

Is Harassment During Pregnancy Covered?

Yes. Comments about your body, pressure to leave before your due date, and exclusion from projects after announcing a pregnancy can all support harassment and pregnancy discrimination claims. These cases frequently involve both conduct-based and decision-based violations, and we pursue them together.

What if My Harasser Is Famous or Powerful?

We built our reputation suing powerful people. Our firm has litigated high-profile harassment cases against celebrities, executives, and public figures, including matters that drew national media attention. Wealth and fame do not place anyone above California employment law. In our experience, they raise the stakes for the defendant.

Do I Need Solid Proof Before Calling a Lawyer?

No. Bring what you have, even if it feels like you don’t have enough. Part of our job is identifying evidence you may not realize exists, such as personnel files, coworker witnesses, and prior complaints against the same person. A workplace harassment lawyer Los Angeles, CA employees trust will evaluate your situation honestly and at no cost.

Will My Case Go to Trial?

Most harassment cases settle before trial. But settlements come faster and larger when the other side knows your attorney will actually try the case. Bloom Fudali has taken harassment claims to verdict, including multi-million dollar jury awards, and we prepare every case as if a jury will hear it.

Important Resources for Los Angeles Workplace Harassment Cases

Los Angeles Courthouses and Employment Agency Offices

Most FEHA lawsuits filed by our clients proceed in the Los Angeles Superior Court system, with many employment matters heard downtown at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on Hill Street. Claims filed under federal law proceed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, also located downtown. Before either, harassment claims typically pass through an administrative agency.

The EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office operates from the Roybal Federal Building on East Temple Street, and state complaints go through the Civil Rights Department’s online intake system. Knowing which venue fits your claim is a strategic decision, not a clerical one, and it affects deadlines, jury pools, and available damages.

Local Resources for Los Angeles Workplace Harassment Cases

Several agencies and organizations assist Los Angeles employees dealing with hostile workplaces, whether or not they hire a lawyer.

• California Civil Rights Department: (800) 884-1684, accepts and investigates harassment complaints statewide and issues right-to-sue notices.
• EEOC Los Angeles District Office: (800) 669-4000, handles federal discrimination and harassment charges for the region.
• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles: (800) 399-4529, provides free civil legal services to lower-income Angelenos.

These resources are listed for informational purposes only. Bloom Fudali is not affiliated with and does not endorse any organization above.

About Bloom Fudali

Lisa Bloom has been a member of the California bar since 1992 and spent years as a national television legal analyst, including hosting her own program on Court TV, before and while building this practice into one of the country’s best-known plaintiff firms. Alongside Partner and Managing Attorney Arick Fudali, she has led the firm to results including an $11 million sexual harassment verdict, an $8.4 million jury verdict against a billionaire, and a $1.8 million award in a gender pay disparity matter resolved in 2025. Those outcomes reflect a simple philosophy: prepare every case to win in front of a jury.

What Our Clients Say

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“I am a licensed California Employment attorney who had the amazing privilege of referring clients to the Bloom Firm. Lisa Bloom is well respected, smart, tough, and kind, and her entire staff is phenomenal. It was evident that they truly care about their clients and go above and beyond. Additionally they were able to get amazing results that allowed the clients to find justice. If you want kind, knowledgeable, strong, and effective counsel, then you are in great hands at the Bloom Firm.” — Brian Heit

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Additional Resources for Los Angeles Workplace Harassment Cases

• When NDAs Hide Sexual Harassment at Work
• At-Will Employment and Discrimination Claims
• Two Types of Sexual Harassment in California
• Harassment vs Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation
• Before You File a Job Discrimination Complaint

Contact Bloom Fudali

Harassment at work does not resolve itself, and silence is exactly what the people responsible are counting on. Our workplace harassment lawyer in Los Angeles, CA will listen to what happened, give you an honest assessment of your options, and explain what pursuing a claim would actually look like. Consultations are free, we take cases on contingency, and our office responds to all inquiries during business hours, with weekend appointments available. Contact us today to schedule your free case evaluation.