.2610011314377.jpg)
A customer makes sexual comments every time they come into your workplace. A high-profile client repeatedly touches you despite being told to stop. A celebrity guest crosses a line, but your manager seems more concerned about keeping them happy than protecting you.
When the person harassing you is not technically your boss or coworker, you may wonder whether workplace harassment laws still apply.
In California, they can. Employers may have a responsibility to protect employees from harassment by clients, customers, vendors, guests, and other third parties. A person’s status, influence, or value to the business does not give an employer permission to ignore inappropriate conduct.
Can an Employer Be Responsible for Harassment by a Customer or Client?
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, commonly known as FEHA, addresses harassment involving non-employees.
An employer can be held responsible when it knows or should know that a nonemployee is harassing an employee and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.
That means workplace harassment does not necessarily have to come from someone on the company’s payroll.
Depending on the circumstances, a nonemployee harasser could be a customer, client, vendor, contractor, hotel guest, casino patron, celebrity, executive from another company, or another person you encounter because of your job.
What matters is not simply who signs the harasser’s paycheck. The employer’s knowledge of the situation and its response can become critical.
What If the Customer or Client Is Powerful?
These situations can become especially difficult when the person accused of harassment is valuable to the business.
An employee working in entertainment may be dealing with a celebrity, producer, executive, or important client. Someone in hospitality could encounter a VIP guest or major customer. Employees may worry that complaining will cause the company to lose money or damage an important professional relationship.
Those business considerations do not eliminate an employer’s responsibilities under California law.
Management should not simply tell an employee to tolerate inappropriate behavior because someone is famous, spends significant money with the company, or has influence within an industry.
This power imbalance can also make employees hesitant to report what happened. Someone may fear losing assignments, damaging their reputation, or being labeled difficult for objecting to a client’s behavior.
What Should Your Employer Do After You Report Third-Party Harassment?
An employer’s appropriate response depends on the circumstances and severity of the conduct.
The company may investigate the complaint, warn the individual, limit that person’s interactions with employees, restructure an account or working relationship, remove the person from the premises, or take other reasonable measures intended to stop the harassment.
What an employer should not do is simply ignore a complaint while requiring the employee to continue facing the same behavior.
An employer’s response may also raise concerns if the company protects the customer while penalizing the employee. For example, management might remove the employee from profitable shifts, desirable projects, client-facing assignments, or future opportunities while allowing the alleged harasser to continue business as usual.
That can create a separate question involving workplace retaliation.
Can My Employer Retaliate Against Me for Reporting a Client?
California law also protects employees from retaliation for opposing or reporting unlawful workplace harassment.
Retaliation is not limited to termination.
Depending on the circumstances, it may involve reduced hours, a demotion, the loss of assignments, exclusion from important projects, unfavorable scheduling, or other actions that negatively affect someone’s employment.
This can be particularly important in Los Angeles entertainment, hospitality, nightlife, and other industries where opportunities may depend heavily on relationships and discretionary assignments.
If your career suddenly changes after you complain about a powerful client, documenting what happens next may be important.
What Should I Document After Harassment by a Customer or Client?
Start by documenting what happened as accurately as possible.
Record dates, locations, what was said or done, and who witnessed the conduct. Preserve relevant emails, text messages, direct messages, schedules, security information, or other records.
If you report the conduct internally, having a written record of that complaint can also be valuable. An email to HR or management can help establish when the employer learned about the situation and what information it received.
Continue documenting the company’s response. If management minimizes your complaint, tells you to tolerate the conduct, removes you from opportunities, or pressures you to protect the relationship, those details may become relevant later.
When a Powerful Person Crosses the Line at Work
Employees should not have to choose between tolerating harassment and protecting their careers simply because the person involved is important to the business.
At Holtz Matthews LLP, we represent people facing sexual harassment and related workplace retaliation, including matters involving powerful individuals and complicated professional relationships. If you are unsure whether your employer’s response to harassment by a client, customer, or public figure was appropriate, understanding your legal options can help you decide what comes next.