There is nothing new about California employers’ obligation to investigate complaints of sexual harassment. California’s civil rights law, the Fair Employment & Housing Act, prohibits sexual harassment and requires employers to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent and correct harassment. Those reasonable steps include promptly investigating complaints of sexual harassment.

What is new is the close scrutiny on how employers fulfill their obligation to investigate sexual harassment complaints. As the many #MeToo stories have gone viral and were dissected in the media and the courts, a common theme has emerged: The complaining party accuses their employer of ignoring the complaint or conducting a “sham” investigation that results in no repercussions to the alleged harasser. For instance, in a highly publicized blog post, former Uber employee Susan Fowler alleged that when she and co-workers complained to human resources alleging they were sexually harassed, discriminated against due to their gender, HR covered up for managers by falsely claiming they were unable to substantiate their complaints and by flatly ignoring incidents of gender bias.

  • What should an investigation of a sexual harassment complaint look like?