Were you sexually harassed at work in Reno?
Unwanted sexual comments, messages, touching, advances, or pressure involving your job may be unlawful. Retaliation after you objected or reported it may be unlawful too.
If your workplace rights were violated, you may be able to pursue compensation for lost pay or emotional harm, and hold your employer accountable.
Not sure whether it was "serious enough"? You can request a review even if you never reported it to HR or are still employed.
What this looks like in real life, and what the law calls it.
Sexual harassment is usually smaller, repeated, and easier to doubt than people expect. The legal test is whether unwelcome conduct tied to sex made your job hostile, it does not have to be physical or loud.
He says the comments are jokes. They're about my body, and they happen every shift.
The law calls it → sexual harassment (hostile work environment)
- My manager hinted my hours depend on how 'friendly' I am after work. The law calls it → quid pro quo sexual harassment
- The comments stopped being about work a long time ago. Now it's my body, my clothes, my dating life. The law calls it → hostile work environment based on sex
- After I turned him down, my good shifts disappeared and my reviews got worse. The law calls it → retaliation, illegal even if the original complaint isn't proven
- They didn't fire me. They just made every day bad enough that I'd quit. The law calls it → constructive discharge
- Night-shift at the distribution center: two of us in a wing, and he always finds a reason to be there. The law calls it → hostile work environment, isolated-shift risk
These cover unwelcome sexual advances or comments, quid pro quo (job tied to sexual conduct), hostile work environment based on sex, pregnancy and gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, retaliation for reporting, in any industry. If something here is familiar, you don't have to be sure before you ask.
Illustrative situations, not client accounts.
Reno workers have 300 days to file harassment complaints with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, its Northern Nevada office is right on Corporate Blvd, though filing is online-only. There's no EEOC office in Reno (San Francisco's district covers Washoe County), but the EEOC Public Portal works from anywhere. A Reno facility paid $400,000 in a recent EEOC racial-harassment case, these claims are real here.
What could taking action help you pursue?
Depending on the facts, legal action may help recover financial losses, address emotional harm, restore employment opportunities, or require workplace changes. Available remedies depend on the facts and applicable law; no outcome is guaranteed.
Recover what you lost
Lost pay, benefits, hours, and employment opportunities tied to the unlawful conduct.
Address the harm
Compensation for emotional distress may be available where the law provides for it.
Restore an opportunity
Some cases may involve reinstatement, promotion, corrected records, or another job-related remedy.
Create accountability
A resolution may include policy changes, training, or other corrective workplace action.
You do not need a perfect record, or even to know whether what happened was illegal, before asking what your options are.
Common concerns we hear from employees
I never reported it to HR.
You may still have legal options. Not reporting immediately does not automatically end your rights, although the specific facts can affect a claim.
I don't have screenshots or witnesses.
You do not need a complete evidence file before contacting us. We can help identify texts, emails, schedules, witnesses, and other evidence that may matter.
I still work there.
You can ask questions while still employed. Retaliating against a worker for opposing unlawful conduct or asserting protected rights may itself be unlawful.
It was a customer or client, not a coworker.
In some circumstances, an employer may be responsible for the conduct of supervisors, coworkers, customers, clients, or other third parties.
Erika Smolyar
Associate · Admitted in Nevada
Erika Smolyar leads the firm's Nevada cases and represents employees in workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation matters. She is licensed in Nevada and California.
Read Erika's full bio →Real verdicts and recoveries in harassment and discrimination cases.
$23.5 million
150 women · Sexual harassment (multi-plaintiff)
$1 million
a group of women · Sexual harassment (multi-plaintiff)
$15 million
1 plaintiff · Gender pay & promotion discrimination, jury verdict (punitive damages under federal + Oregon law)
Jury verdict, subject to post-trial proceedings. Not a settlement or a collected recovery.
$1.3 million
19 Black construction workers · Racial harassment (hostile work environment)
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What happens after you reach out?
You don't need documents, a lawyer-ready story, or even certainty that what happened was illegal.
- 01
Talk with us
A short initial conversation about what happened and when.
- 02
We assess the record
We identify possible claims, deadlines and evidence that may matter.
- 03
If we take the case
We handle the filing strategy, negotiations and litigation.
Deadlines can depend on where and how you file
Nevada and federal claims may follow different filing routes. These are general time limits, not sequential steps.
Generally, to file a discrimination complaint with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission.
NERC, File a Complaint ↗Generally, to file a lawsuit after receiving a Nevada right-to-sue notice.
NERC, File a Complaint ↗Other claims and exceptions may have different or shorter deadlines. Contact counsel promptly so the applicable dates can be reviewed.
Nevada's fair employment practices law (Equal Opportunities for Employment)
NRS 613.310 to 613.4383, inclusive
Primary source, NRS 613.310 to 613.4383, inclusive ↗Share what happened in about two minutes. The firm will review your submission and contact you about possible options and next steps. There is no cost or obligation to request a review.
Deadlines and filing issues for workers in Reno.
- 300 days for NERC and EEOC, and NERC is online-only; no walk-ins.
- After a right-to-sue notice: just 90 days to sue.
- No EEOC office in Reno means some workers wrongly assume they can't file federally, the Public Portal works from anywhere.
- Gigafactory workers: Storey County worksites sometimes confuse venue questions, don't let jurisdiction confusion eat your window.
- Nevada requires 15+ employees for the statutory claim, small-employer situations need early legal triage.
Local filing and enforcement information for Reno workers.
The sources below are public agency actions and filing information, not this firm's cases. They illustrate how claims have been handled and do not predict the outcome of another matter.
- EEOC v. PRC Industries (Reno): $400,000 settlement (October 2023) of a racial harassment and retaliation suit, two Black employees endured months of slurs from supervisors and were fired by text message within hours of reporting. official source ↗
These are public government enforcement actions by the EEOC, not this firm's cases. Agency and state filing routes for Reno follow below.
Where do you file a sexual harassment claim in Reno?
Nevada Equal Rights Commission
Northern Nevada Office (Reno)1325 Corporate Blvd., Room 115
Reno, NV 89502
(775) 823-6690
Online-only filing, NERC no longer accepts complaints by mail, fax, or in person. Callers needing accommodation may phone either office.
File online →EEOC San Francisco District Office
There is no EEOC office in Reno, Washoe County is covered by the San Francisco District Office. In practice, everyone files online via the EEOC Public Portal or by phone (1-800-669-4000), or with NERC's Reno office via dual-filing.
450 Golden Gate Avenue, 5 WestSan Francisco, CA 94102-3661
1-800-669-4000 EEOC Public Portal →
Second Judicial District Court (Washoe County)
Washoe County Courthouse75 Court Street
Reno, NV 89501
The filing path, step by step
- 1Document everything, texts especially. In the region's defining recent case, workers were fired BY TEXT after reporting slurs; those messages became evidence.
- 2File with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission within 300 days, online at mynerccomplaint.nv.gov (Reno office for phone help: 775-823-6690).
- 3Or file with the EEOC within 300 days via the Public Portal, no EEOC office exists in Reno; San Francisco's district covers Washoe County, but geography doesn't matter for online filing.
- 4Gigafactory/TRI-Center workers: your worksite is in Storey County, but NERC filing is statewide and online, county lines don't block your complaint.
- 5After a right-to-sue notice: 90 days to file at the Second Judicial District Court, 75 Court Street.
Sexual-harassment information in other Nevada cities
View all Nevada sexual harassment locations →Asked by Reno workers.
I work at the Tesla Gigafactory, it's in Storey County, not Reno. Where do I file a harassment complaint?
NERC filing is statewide and online, file at mynerccomplaint.nv.gov regardless of county, with phone help from the Reno office (775-823-6690). Storey County technically falls under the EEOC's San Francisco district, but the Public Portal makes that irrelevant. Don't let geography delay you: the window is 300 days.
There's no EEOC office in Reno, do I have to go to San Francisco to file?
No. File online through the EEOC Public Portal, by phone (1-800-669-4000), or with NERC's Reno office, charges dual-file between the agencies. Nobody travels to San Francisco for this.
My supervisor at a Sparks distribution center uses racial slurs and management does nothing. Is that illegal?
Yes. Nevada law (NRS 613.330) prohibits racial harassment, and this exact pattern happened here: the EEOC sued a Reno facility where two Black employees endured months of slurs, and the company paid $400,000 (2023). Management inaction after notice is where employer liability attaches.
I was fired by text message after reporting harassment at my warehouse job. Is that retaliation?
Very likely, and it mirrors the facts of the Reno area's defining recent case, where firing-by-text after harassment reports was part of a $400,000 EEOC settlement. Retaliation is independently illegal under NRS 613.340. Preserve those texts; they're evidence, not just insults.
I'm a dealer at a downtown Reno casino and regulars harass me, the floor manager says it's 'part of the job.' Is it?
No. Customer harassment is actionable when the employer knows and fails to act, tipped, customer-facing casino work is a recognized EEOC risk environment precisely because workers are told to tolerate it. 'Part of the job' is a confession, not a defense.
I got my NERC right-to-sue letter, how long do I have to file in Washoe County court?
90 days from receipt. The courthouse is the Second Judicial District Court at 75 Court Street in Reno. Ninety days disappears fast, if you have the letter in hand, the time to talk to a lawyer is now.