Harassment by Customers, Clients, and Third Parties
The person harassing you does not work for your employer. They are a customer, a client, a vendor, a patient, a contractor. Your employer says: “That’s not our employee — there’s nothing we can do.” Under California law, there is something they must do. The employer is liable for third-party harassment when it knows about the conduct and fails to act.
Workplace harassment does not come exclusively from supervisors and coworkers. It comes from customers who make sexual comments to servers. From patients who direct racial slurs at nurses. From clients who harass the employees assigned to their accounts. From vendors who create a hostile environment during regular visits.
The harasser is not the employer’s employee. But the workplace is the employer’s responsibility — and when the employer knows that a third party is harassing its employees and fails to take corrective action, the employer is liable.
The legal standard
Government Code section 12940, subdivision (j)(1) provides that an employer is liable for harassment by nonemployees if the employer “knows or should have known of the conduct and fails to take immediate and appropriate corrective action.”
This is the same standard that applies to coworker harassment: knowledge plus failure to act. The employer does not need to have committed the harassment. It needs to have known about it and failed to respond.
The employer’s response must be “immediate and appropriate.” What is appropriate depends on the circumstances — and on the employer’s degree of control over the third party. An employer has more control over a vendor (whom it can refuse to do business with) than over a customer (whom it may not be able to ban from a public-facing business). But the obligation to act exists regardless of the degree of control.
What the employer must do
When the employer learns that a third party is harassing an employee — through a complaint, through a manager’s observation, through any channel — it must take steps reasonably calculated to end the harassment.
Addressing the third party. The employer should communicate to the harasser that the conduct is unacceptable. A customer who makes sexual comments to a server should be told to stop — by the manager, not by the server. A client who directs racial slurs at the employee assigned to their account should be warned that the behavior will not be tolerated. A vendor whose representative creates a hostile environment should be informed that the representative is no longer welcome on the employer’s premises.
Protecting the employee. If the employer cannot control the third party’s behavior — because the third party is a member of the public, a patient, or someone the employer cannot exclude — the employer must take steps to protect the employee. Reassigning the employee away from the harassing third party, providing support, or modifying the work arrangement to minimize contact are all forms of corrective action.
Not blaming the employee. An employer that tells the employee to “deal with it,” that characterizes the complaint as an overreaction, or that suggests the employee should accept the harassment as “part of the job” has failed its obligation. Harassment is not a job requirement, regardless of the source.
Common scenarios
Restaurant and retail. Servers, bartenders, cashiers, and retail associates are routinely subjected to harassment by customers — sexual comments, unwelcome touching, racial remarks. The employer that shrugs — “what can we do, they’re customers” — has failed its obligation. What the employer can do: warn the customer, refuse service, ban the customer, and support the employee.
Healthcare. Nurses, CNAs, and other healthcare workers experience harassment from patients — patients who refuse care from workers of certain races, who make sexual demands, who direct slurs at staff. The employer must address the behavior to the extent possible — which may include reassigning the patient, involving security, and ensuring the employee is not penalized for reporting.
Professional services. An employee assigned to a client account is harassed by the client’s representative — who makes sexual advances, who directs comments about the employee’s religion, who creates a hostile dynamic during meetings. The employer must address the situation with the client — which may mean reassigning the account, confronting the client, or, if necessary, discontinuing the relationship.
Why employers resist
Employers resist addressing third-party harassment because the third party is often a source of revenue. The customer spends money. The client pays fees. The vendor provides a necessary service. Confronting the harasser risks the business relationship.
The law does not accept this calculus. The employer’s obligation to protect its employees from harassment is not subordinate to the employer’s interest in maintaining a business relationship. The employer cannot sacrifice its employees’ dignity for its revenue — and when it does, it is liable for the harm that results.
What the employee should do
An employee who is being harassed by a customer, client, vendor, or other third party should report the harassment to the employer — in writing, with specifics. The report triggers the employer’s obligation to act.
If the employer does not act — if it ignores the report, dismisses the complaint, or tells the employee to tolerate it — the employer’s inaction is the violation. The employee may file a complaint with the CRD, consult with an attorney, and pursue a harassment claim against the employer based on the employer’s failure to protect.
If a customer, client, vendor, or other third party is harassing you at work — and your employer knows about it and has not taken action — the employer is liable. The harasser does not need to be the employer’s employee. The employer’s obligation to protect you from harassment extends to every person you are required to interact with in the course of your employment.
This article is general information about California law and is not legal advice. Every situation turns on its particular facts.