You Don’t Have to Sign Away Your Right to Speak Up

Sexual harassment is illegal sex discrimination under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), which applies to employers with as few as eight employees and allows full compensatory damages with no statutory cap. Whether you experienced unwanted advances from a supervisor, a hostile work environment created by coworkers, or retaliation for rejecting harassment or reporting it, Washington law gives you options. If your employer required you to sign a nondisclosure agreement about the harassment, that agreement may not be enforceable under Washington’s Silenced No More Act. Meyer Thorp, PLLC represents Washington employees who have experienced sexual harassment or retaliation at work.

Why Clients Turn to Meyer Thorp, PLLC

  • Experience building both hostile work environment and quid pro quo harassment cases under WLAD and federal law
  • Familiarity with Washington’s Silenced No More Act and how it affects existing NDAs and settlement agreements
  • The ability to gather personnel files, HR complaint records, and witness accounts through the discovery process
  • A contingency-fee structure for most claims, so a client pays nothing up front and nothing at all unless we recover compensation
  • Statewide representation against employers of all sizes across Washington

What Counts as Sexual Harassment Under Washington Law?

Washington law recognizes two main categories of sexual harassment, and either can support a claim:

  • Quid pro quo harassment — when a job benefit, promotion, or continued employment is conditioned, explicitly or implicitly, on accepting unwanted sexual advances
  • Hostile work environment — unwelcome sexual comments, jokes, touching, propositions, or displayed material severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment
  • Retaliation for rejecting advances or reporting harassment, including demotion, discipline, exclusion, or termination
  • Harassment by a supervisor, coworker, client, or vendor, when the employer knew or should have known and failed to act

How Is Washington Law Different From Federal Law?

WLAD applies to employers with 8 or more employees, compared to the 15-employee threshold under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, so many Washington employees at smaller companies are protected under state law even when no federal claim is available. WLAD also allows claims against individual supervisors or coworkers personally, not just the employer, and does not cap compensatory damages the way some federal statutes do. A WLAD claim generally does not require filing first with a government agency before going to court.

Can My Employer Make Me Sign an NDA About Harassment?

No, not one that silences you about illegal conduct. Under RCW 49.44.211, Washington’s Silenced No More Act, any provision in an employment agreement or settlement that prevents you from discussing conduct you reasonably believe to be illegal harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or sexual assault is void and unenforceable. This applies retroactively to agreements signed before the law took effect in June 2022, and it allows a separate lawsuit, with statutory damages, against an employer who tries to enforce a prohibited agreement.

What If I Was Retaliated Against for Reporting Harassment?

Washington law prohibits retaliation against an employee for reporting harassment, participating in an investigation, or rejecting unwelcome advances. A retaliation claim can stand on its own, even in situations where the underlying harassment claim is harder to prove, because the law protects the act of speaking up regardless of the ultimate outcome of that complaint.

How Do I Prove a Hostile Work Environment Claim?

A hostile work environment claim generally requires showing that unwelcome sexual conduct was severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of your employment, and that your employer knew or should have known about it and failed to take reasonable steps to stop it. Some situations involve a single severe incident, such as a serious assault, while others build on a documented pattern of comments, contact, or exclusion over time.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim in Washington?

Most WLAD sexual harassment claims must be filed in court within three years of the harassing conduct (RCW 49.60). If you choose to file a complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission instead of, or before, going to court, that administrative complaint generally must be filed within six months of the incident. If a claim also involves an unlawful NDA under the Silenced No More Act, that claim has its own separate legal basis and timeline worth discussing with an attorney.

What Compensation Can I Recover?

A successful WLAD claim can provide compensatory damages, including emotional distress, along with back pay and front pay, injunctive relief requiring the employer to change its policies or practices, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. If your employer required or attempted to enforce an unlawful nondisclosure agreement, you may also be entitled to separate statutory damages under the Silenced No More Act, in addition to any harassment-related damages.

Talk to a Washington Sexual Harassment Attorney

If you have experienced sexual harassment at work in Washington, you do not have to accept it, or stay silent about it. Contact Meyer Thorp, PLLC today for a confidential consultation.

Sexual Harassment Claims

You Don’t Have to Sign Away Your Right to Speak Up

Sexual harassment is illegal sex discrimination under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), which applies to employers with as few as eight employees and allows full compensatory damages with no statutory cap. Whether you experienced unwanted advances from a supervisor, a hostile work environment created by coworkers, or retaliation for rejecting harassment or reporting it, Washington law gives you options. If your employer required you to sign a nondisclosure agreement about the harassment, that agreement may not be enforceable under Washington’s Silenced No More Act. Meyer Thorp, PLLC represents Washington employees who have experienced sexual harassment or retaliation at work.

Why Clients Turn to Meyer Thorp, PLLC

  • Experience building both hostile work environment and quid pro quo harassment cases under WLAD and federal law
  • Familiarity with Washington’s Silenced No More Act and how it affects existing NDAs and settlement agreements
  • The ability to gather personnel files, HR complaint records, and witness accounts through the discovery process
  • A contingency-fee structure for most claims, so a client pays nothing up front and nothing at all unless we recover compensation
  • Statewide representation against employers of all sizes across Washington

What Counts as Sexual Harassment Under Washington Law?

Washington law recognizes two main categories of sexual harassment, and either can support a claim:

  • Quid pro quo harassment — when a job benefit, promotion, or continued employment is conditioned, explicitly or implicitly, on accepting unwanted sexual advances
  • Hostile work environment — unwelcome sexual comments, jokes, touching, propositions, or displayed material severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment
  • Retaliation for rejecting advances or reporting harassment, including demotion, discipline, exclusion, or termination
  • Harassment by a supervisor, coworker, client, or vendor, when the employer knew or should have known and failed to act

How Is Washington Law Different From Federal Law?

WLAD applies to employers with 8 or more employees, compared to the 15-employee threshold under Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act, so many Washington employees at smaller companies are protected under state law even when no federal claim is available. WLAD also allows claims against individual supervisors or coworkers personally, not just the employer, and does not cap compensatory damages the way some federal statutes do. A WLAD claim generally does not require filing first with a government agency before going to court.

Can My Employer Make Me Sign an NDA About Harassment?

No, not one that silences you about illegal conduct. Under RCW 49.44.211, Washington’s Silenced No More Act, any provision in an employment agreement or settlement that prevents you from discussing conduct you reasonably believe to be illegal harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or sexual assault is void and unenforceable. This applies retroactively to agreements signed before the law took effect in June 2022, and it allows a separate lawsuit, with statutory damages, against an employer who tries to enforce a prohibited agreement.

What If I Was Retaliated Against for Reporting Harassment?

Washington law prohibits retaliation against an employee for reporting harassment, participating in an investigation, or rejecting unwelcome advances. A retaliation claim can stand on its own, even in situations where the underlying harassment claim is harder to prove, because the law protects the act of speaking up regardless of the ultimate outcome of that complaint.

How Do I Prove a Hostile Work Environment Claim?

A hostile work environment claim generally requires showing that unwelcome sexual conduct was severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of your employment, and that your employer knew or should have known about it and failed to take reasonable steps to stop it. Some situations involve a single severe incident, such as a serious assault, while others build on a documented pattern of comments, contact, or exclusion over time.

How Long Do I Have to File a Claim in Washington?

Most WLAD sexual harassment claims must be filed in court within three years of the harassing conduct (RCW 49.60). If you choose to file a complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission instead of, or before, going to court, that administrative complaint generally must be filed within six months of the incident. If a claim also involves an unlawful NDA under the Silenced No More Act, that claim has its own separate legal basis and timeline worth discussing with an attorney.

What Compensation Can I Recover?

A successful WLAD claim can provide compensatory damages, including emotional distress, along with back pay and front pay, injunctive relief requiring the employer to change its policies or practices, and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. If your employer required or attempted to enforce an unlawful nondisclosure agreement, you may also be entitled to separate statutory damages under the Silenced No More Act, in addition to any harassment-related damages.

Talk to a Washington Sexual Harassment Attorney

If you have experienced sexual harassment at work in Washington, you do not have to accept it, or stay silent about it. Contact Meyer Thorp, PLLC today for a confidential consultation.