On October 5, 2026, the Second Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal held in Doe v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. B344642, that an employer was not strictly liable under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) for harassment perpetrated by the plaintiff’s coworker when that coworker was a supervisor of other employees but not a supervisor of the plaintiff. In Doe, the plaintiff and several coworkers traveled to another city for client meetings. After their meetings concluded, the plaintiff and her coworkers had dinner and drinks. The plaintiff claimed that a coworker sexually assaulted her. Although the coworker admitted to a sexual encounter with the plaintiff, he claimed that it was consensual.
The trial court granted the employer summary judgment on the plaintiff’s claim for sexual harassment, reasoning that the company could not be held strictly liable for harassment because the alleged harasser was not the plaintiff’s supervisor, and the company could not be liable under a negligence standard because it immediately and appropriately responded to the plaintiff’s complaint of sexual harassment. On appeal, the plaintiff argued that the trial court misapplied the standard for strict liability and that an employer is strictly liable for harassment perpetrated by a supervisor regardless of whether the supervisor supervises the plaintiff or other employees only.
In reaching its decision, the Court first analyzed the applicable statute, California...
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