Workplace Bullying in California – How You Can Fight Back

In California, workplace bullying is repeated, degrading mistreatment at work. Examples of bullying include:

• use of verbal abuse and epithets,
• intimidating or humiliating behavior, including offensive jokes,
• interference with the victim’s work that is unrelated to the employer’s legitimate business interests, or
• cyberbullying

There is no specific anti-bullying law in California. However, employees have the right to sue the bully and/or their employer if the bullying becomes workplace harassment or discrimination under

• the California Fair Employment Act (FEHA),
• the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), or
• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.¹

Workplace bullying may violate harassment or discrimination laws when such behavior is based on a protected category to which the victim belongs.

This means that workers have a legal right to take action either when bullying crosses the line into sexual harassment, or when it comprises non-sexual harassment or discrimination based on protected characteristics like:

• Race,
• Religion,
• National origin,
• Sexual orientation, or
• Disability.²

In this article, our California labor and employment attorneys will address the following key issues regarding rights of employees who suffer workplace bullying:

• 1. Types of Workplace Bullying
• 2. Bullying as a Crime
• 3. Bullying as Harassment
• 4. Victims’ Rights
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Additional Resources

1. Types of Workplace Bullying

The Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI) describes workplace bullying as repeated, health-harming mistreatment of one or more people in the workplace. In California, workplace bullying behavior is abusive conduct that falls into one of the following three categories:

1. Threatening, humiliating, or intimidating workplace behavior;
2. Work interference / sabotage of the person’s work performance; or
3. Verbal abuse.

Example: Ramona accepts a new job at a small company. She is replacing another worker who was fired for absenteeism.

Several other employees of the company were good friends of the worker who was fired and resent Ramona for being her replacement. They repeatedly sabotage her work by sneaking onto shared documents on the company’s internal network that Ramona has been working on and deleting her work.

This counts as an abusive work environment, of the sabotage/work interference variety.

Usually, a single act is not considered workplace bullying; instead, the abuse must be repeated. An exception is a single act of bullying that is particularly severe or harsh, such as a physical attack or plausible threat to the victim’s personal safety.³

Prevalence of Workplace Bullying

According to a 2024 U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), approximately 32% of adult Americans report being directly bullied at work—an estimated 52.2 million workers.

The data also shows that Black employees are the most likely to be affected by bullying, with 57% reporting they have been bullied or witnessed it. This is followed by Hispanic/Latino employees.

Furthermore, 55% of bullies are bosses or supervisors, rather than peers. Meanwhile, peer-to-peer bullying has risen to 29%.

Remote work has not solved the problem either: 51% of hybrid workers report being bullied—the highest rate of any working arrangement.⁴

2. Bullying as a Crime

Workplace bullying is not actually illegal in California – although certain forms of abusive conduct can be illegal under California law. There is no California statute that allows employees to sue their employers and/or coworkers for workplace bullying.

However, the 2018 California law SB 1343 requires California employers with five or more employees to provide interactive sexual harassment training to:

• supervisors (two hours every two years);
• non-supervisors (one hour every two years);
• new supervisors and non-supervisors within six months.

The training would also include prevention of “abusive conduct” (meaning workplace bullying).⁵

Also, employees who are victims of workplace bullying may have a legal right to compensation if the bullying crosses the line into workplace harassment. We describe this scenario in the next section.

3. Bullying as Harassment

Simply put, “hostile work environment” harassment is workplace bullying based on one of the protected categories under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (the “FEHA”).

California employees have a legal right to be free from workplace harassing behavior based on any of the following protected classes:

• Race,
• Religion,
• Color,
• National origin,
• Ancestry,
• Physical or mental disability,
• Medical condition or genetic information,
• Marital status,
• Sex,
• Gender,
• Gender identity or gender expression,
• Reproductive health decision-making,
• Age (40+),
• Sexual orientation harassment, and
• Military/veteran status.⁶

Unlike workplace bullying, harassment on the basis of one of those categories is against California employment law.

Example: Ahmed is the only Muslim and immigrant employee at an auto repair shop. Several of his colleagues regularly make rude, disparaging comments to his face in front of others about his appearance and not being American and his ability to do his job. He is also excluded from his colleagues’ social activities. On several occasions the harassers have used ethnic slurs in person and on social media.

The workplace bullying Ahmed is experiencing may actually be hostile work environment harassment on the basis of his religion and nationality.

Harassment itself can take many forms, including verbal (such as threats), physical (such as unwanted touching), sexual (such as unwanted sexual advances), and visual (such as offensive posters).⁷ And for harassment to rise to the level of a hostile work environment, the bullying must be severe or pervasive. California courts consider such factors as:

• The nature of the conduct;
• How long and how often the harassing conduct lasts;
• The circumstances surrounding the conduct;
• If the conduct was humiliating or threatening.⁸

In certain situations, even a one-time incident of bullying can qualify as workplace harassment.⁹

Victims of harassment have the right to file complaints with the California Civil Rights Department (the “CRD”) and, in many cases, to file a lawsuit in response to the bullying and harassment. They can sue the person who harasses them. They can also sue their employer if a supervisor commits the harassment or if the employer negligently fails to address the unlawful harassment. ¹⁰

4. Victims’ Rights

Even though workplace bullying is not against the law in California, employees who are the victims of bullying at work DO have options. An experienced California labor and employment attorney can help you determine whether the abuse you are experiencing violates California employment law. Sometimes, the problem can be solved by going to Human Resources. Other times, legal action is necessary.

For example, the bullying you are experiencing may actually meet the legal definition of harassment. California harassment law is broader than many people realize and encompasses abusive behavior not just based on categories like race and sex–but also based on less well-known protected traits like a medical condition, military status, age, and gender expression.

If your complaints about bullying result in your job loss, you may have rights under California’s “wrongful termination” or FEHA retaliation laws. If the bullying you experience includes wage/hour or overtime violations, you have legal rights regarding those as well.

Finally, speaking with an attorney can be helpful even if the workplace bullying you experience does not trigger any specific legal rights for California employees. Sometimes, the knowledge that you are exploring your legal options is all an employer needs to start paying attention to workplace bullying and its terrible effect on employee morale (as well as potentially on their bottom line).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue my boss or coworker just for being mean or rude to me?

Generally, no. California law does not have a specific “anti-bullying” statute that allows you to sue solely for general mistreatment, yelling, or rudeness.

However, if the bullying is motivated by a protected characteristic—such as your race, gender, religion, disability, or sexual orientation—it may be considered illegal harassment or discrimination under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).

Does my employer have to provide training on workplace bullying?

Yes, if they have five or more employees. Under California law (SB 1343), employers of this size must provide sexual harassment prevention training that also covers “abusive conduct” (bullying). Supervisors must receive two hours of training every two years, and non-supervisory employees must receive one hour every two years.

What is the difference between “bullying” and “hostile work environment”?

The main difference is the motivation behind the behavior.

• Bullying is broad: it includes verbal abuse, sabotage, or intimidation that harms your health or work performance.

• Hostile Work Environment is a specific legal term: it describes bullying that is severe or pervasive enough to alter your working conditions and is based on a protected class (like age, gender, or disability). While all hostile work environments involve bullying, not all bullying qualifies legally as a hostile work environment.

What should I do if I am being bullied but it is not based on a protected category?

Even if you cannot sue for harassment, you still have options. You should document every incident (dates, times, witnesses) and report it to Human Resources or management, as they may have internal policies against abusive conduct.

Additionally, if the bullying involves other violations—such as wage theft, safety violations, or retaliation for whistleblowing—you may have grounds for legal action under different labor laws.

Additional Resources

For more information, refer to the following:

1. Workplace Bullying Institute – Leading organization dedicated to enacting laws against workplace bullying.
2. Workplace Harassment Legislative Principles and Priorities – The ACLU’s call for legislative action to end workplace harassment.
3. EEOC Harassment Information – Harassment overview and resources from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
4. Workplace Bullying Is Not Employee Dissatisfaction and Is Different from School Bullying – Article in Workplace Psychology blog.
   
5. Right to Be – Nonprofit movement to end harassment in all spaces, including work.

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