Page 5 - Harassment Investigations Booklet

Under the Fair Employment and Housing Act, an employee’s unreasonable failure to use an employer’s complaint procedure can limit the employer’s liability even where unlawful conduct might have occurred. To take advantage of this limitation in liability, the employer must show that (1) it took reasonable steps to prevent and correct workplace sexual harassment, which means that it had an effective policy and complaint procedure; (2) the employee unreasonably failed to use the preventive and corrective measures that the employer provided; and (3) reasonable use of the employer’s procedures would have prevented at least some of the harm that the employee suffered. State Dept. of Health Services v. Superior Court, 31 Cal.4th 1026 (2003).
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