Were you sexually harassed at work in Spokane?
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
- The charge nurse corners me on the night shift with comments that have nothing to do with the patients. The law calls it → hostile work environment based on sex
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.
Spokane workers can sue directly under Washington's Law Against Discrimination within three years, no agency filing required, and state-law remedies are not subject to the federal Title VII cap schedule, plus attorney's fees. The state Human Rights Commission keeps a district office downtown for its six-month track, and Washington's Silenced No More Act voids NDAs that hide harassment. Independent contractors are covered too.
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.
Brian Denlinger
Shareholder · Admitted in Washington
Brian Denlinger represents employees in Washington discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage-and-hour matters. He is licensed in Washington and Colorado.
Read Brian'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
Washington and federal claims may follow different filing routes. These are general time limits, not sequential steps.
Generally, to file a discrimination or harassment complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission.
WSHRC, File a Complaint ↗Generally, to sue directly in court under Washington's Law Against Discrimination; no agency filing is required first.
Often, to file an EEOC charge when the claim is also covered by state or local anti-discrimination law.
EEOC, How to File a Charge ↗Other claims and exceptions may have different or shorter deadlines. Contact counsel promptly so the applicable dates can be reviewed.
Full Washington sexual harassment law: deadlines, damages & agencies → Washington law: deadlines & agencies →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 Spokane.
- Washington's 6-month WSHRC deadline is among the shortest in the nation, but missing it does NOT end your case; the direct-suit clock runs 3 years.
- The federal EEOC window is 300 days and runs on its own, shorter than the state lawsuit window, so federal claims need earlier attention.
- Spokane sits in the federal Eastern District of Washington, not the Western District that covers Seattle and Tacoma, a venue Spokane workers often get wrong.
- Pre-2022 settlement NDAs keep their terms; the Silenced No More Act protects conduct going forward, not older legal-claim settlements.
- Independent contractors can't use the state commission at all, their only door is a lawsuit, where the 3-year clock controls.
Local filing and enforcement information for Spokane 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.
- Skilled trades, Spokane Valley EEOC v. Air Control Heating & Air Conditioning (E.D. Wash.): a $361,000 five-year consent decree (2022) resolving claims that the company's owner subjected seven women to near-daily sexual comments, unwanted touching, and demands for revealing clothing, and insisted women didn't belong in the building trades, while management failed to stop it. official source ↗
These are public government enforcement actions by the EEOC, not this firm's cases. Agency and state filing routes for Spokane follow below.
Where do you file a sexual harassment claim in Spokane?
Washington State Human Rights Commission
Headquarters (Olympia)711 S. Capitol Way, Suite 402
Olympia, WA 98501
1-800-233-3247
WSHRC has no Seattle office. It operates from its Olympia headquarters, with offices in Spokane, Union Gap, and East Wenatchee. File online or by mail with Olympia HQ.
File online →EEOC Seattle Field Office
The Seattle Field Office covers all of Washington, including Spokane and Eastern Washington, there is no EEOC office in Spokane. Most workers file online.
Federal Office Building, 909 First Avenue, Suite 400Seattle, WA 98104-1061
1-800-669-4000 EEOC Public Portal →
Spokane County Superior Court
Spokane County Courthouse1116 West Broadway Avenue
Spokane, WA 99260
The filing path, step by step
- 1Save what proves it, texts, schedules, names of witnesses, and any severance or NDA paperwork, which Washington law may override.
- 2You do NOT need an agency filing to sue in Washington, WLAD allows a direct lawsuit within 3 years at Spokane County Superior Court (1116 W. Broadway Avenue).
- 3Agency routes: the Human Rights Commission within 6 months, and unlike Seattle or Tacoma, Spokane has a WSHRC district office right downtown at 1330 N. Washington Street, or the EEOC within 300 days (its Seattle Field Office covers Eastern Washington).
- 4Independent contractors: your path is the lawsuit, the state commission can't take contractor complaints, but Spokane County Superior Court can.
- 5Federal Title VII claims go to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, which sits in Spokane, not the Western District.
Sexual-harassment information in other Washington cities
- BellevueWorkplace sexual-harassment information
- SeattleWorkplace sexual-harassment information
- TacomaWorkplace sexual-harassment information
Asked by Spokane workers.
Does Spokane have a state civil rights office I can walk into?
Yes, and it's an advantage Seattle and Tacoma workers don't have. The Washington State Human Rights Commission runs a district office in downtown Spokane at 1330 N. Washington Street, so you can file the six-month state complaint in person locally instead of dealing only with Olympia. You can also skip the agency and sue directly within three years.
If I sue in federal court, where does my Spokane case go?
To the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington, which sits in Spokane at the Thomas S. Foley Courthouse. That surprises people who assume Washington cases run through Seattle, the Western District covers Seattle and Tacoma, but the eastern half of the state, including Spokane, has its own federal court here.
I signed an NDA when I left my Spokane job, can I still talk about the harassment?
In most cases, yes. Washington's Silenced No More Act voids NDA and non-disparagement terms that stop you from discussing workplace harassment, discrimination, or retaliation, and an employer who tries to enforce one owes at least $10,000 plus your attorney fees. The one carve-out is NDAs inside legal-claim settlements signed before June 2022.
I already blew past the 6-month state deadline, is my Spokane case dead?
No. Washington lets you file a direct WLAD lawsuit within three years, with no agency complaint required first. The six-month Human Rights Commission window is the shortest clock, not the only one. A missed agency deadline is a detour, not a dead end, talk to a lawyer before the three-year window closes too.
I reported harassment at a Spokane hospital and my shifts got cut, is that retaliation?
Very possibly. Under Washington law, punishing you, cut shifts, worse assignments, sudden exclusion, after you oppose harassment or complain is a separate violation, even if the underlying harassment claim never succeeds. In the region's big hospital systems this pattern is common; document the report date, then each change that followed it.
My Spokane employer has only 6 people, does Washington law still cover me?
The state law and a direct WLAD lawsuit reach employers with 8 or more employees, so a 6-person shop is a close call worth a free consultation, headcount can include part-timers and shift around thresholds. Independent contractors are separately protected regardless of size, but must go the lawsuit route.