Protective Order Options After Sexual Assault by a Coworker

Q: Does California require a pattern of harassment for a civil restraining order, or can a single incident be enough?

A single incident can be enough where it involves unlawful violence, which is defined to include any assault or battery, or stalking. A knowing and willful course of conduct is a separate, alternative basis — not a requirement.

Q: What is the evidence standard for a civil harassment restraining order in California?

Relief requires clear and convincing evidence, a higher standard than the preponderance standard used in most civil cases, though lower than the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard used in criminal cases.

Q: Is an employer responsible under FEHA for harassment between coworkers that occurs outside of work?

It depends on the facts. FEHA requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent harassment and to take immediate and appropriate corrective action once on notice, and those duties can extend to conduct that begins off-duty where it affects the workplace — but the connection is not automatic.

Question

Sexual assault by coworker outside of work, potential restraining order or sexual assault case I was sexually assaulted by a coworker a couple of weeks ago, it took me time to process and accept that I was a victim. I wanted to keep things professional and try being friends because I didn’t want to escalate it into an issue at work. A few days later I accepted it as SA, and asked for a phone call to confront and settle. I did not plan to charge him. He deflected and refused to call when he was told by his friend that I confided in what it was about , and flipped the blame calling me an assaulter. I addressed the assault and said that if he doesn’t respond, I will contact work HR. I did the next day but they said they can only separate us from shifts bc the assault was off work grounds. They can’t do anything else unless he does something at work. I was asked to write a written statement for my file, and a senior manager told me I should go get legal help. After I threatened HR, he has been visiting my residence for the past 2 nights and leaving mockery food at my door. I took photos of it, but don’t have video evidence of him coming. I know it was him, but I don’t have enough evidence to file a restraining order, or get more protection at work. What do I do

A. Jason Velez · Accepted Answer

You can seek a civil harassment restraining order based on a single incident — a repeated pattern is not required — but you should go in knowing the evidence standard is higher than in most civil cases, and there is a separate workplace track worth pursuing in parallel.

California's civil harassment statute defines harassment disjunctively: unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or a knowing and willful course of conduct. "Unlawful violence" is defined to include any assault or battery, or stalking (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. § 527.6). Because sexual battery is a battery (Cal. Penal Code § 243.4), a single incident can qualify on its own, without a course of conduct.

The harder part is proof. Relief under that statute requires clear and convincing evidence — a higher standard than the preponderance standard used in most civil cases. Given what you describe about the recent contact at your residence, it is worth being realistic with yourself and with the court about what you can currently establish versus what you believe happened. Photographs with timestamps, a written timeline, and circumstantial detail — who else plausibly could have done it, the timing relative to your HR complaint, anything he has said — all carry weight and should be collected now rather than reconstructed later.

On the workplace side, FEHA obligates an employer to take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment from occurring, and imposes liability where the employer knew or should have known of harassment by an employee and failed to take immediate and appropriate corrective action (Cal. Gov. Code § 12940(j)(1), (k)). HR's position that it can only separate your shifts because the incident happened off work grounds is not necessarily the final word. FEHA reaches harassment in the employment context, so how far those duties extend to off-duty conduct depends on the connection to the workplace — which is arguable here given the continuing contact, but it is not automatic. That is a question worth pressing rather than accepting as settled in either direction.

What you can do

1. File a police report about the assault and, separately, about the visits to your residence and the items left at your door — photos and a timeline still matter without video. 2. Preserve the photographs with their original timestamps and metadata, and note the timing of each incident relative to your HR complaint. 3. File a request for a civil harassment restraining order describing the assault and the subsequent conduct, and prepare to testify to the clear and convincing standard. 4. File a complaint with California's Civil Rights Department regarding the employer's response, since FEHA's prevention and corrective-action duties may reach further than HR indicated. 5. Consult a California attorney who handles both sexual assault civil claims and employment matters — the restraining order and the workplace issue are moving in parallel and benefit from coordinated handling.

Protective Order Options After Sexual Assault by a Coworker

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