California Increased FEHA Claim Statute to Three Years With SHARE Act

• Posted on: February 16, 2022

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The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) is a California state law that protects employees against workplace discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. For most of its history, FEHA had a strict one-year statute of limitations. Employees had to act quickly to protect their rights.

However, recent reforms have extended the statute of limitations to three years. In this blog post, our Bay Area employment attorneys explain the most important things to know about the SHARE Act and the increased statute of limitations for FEHA claims.

SHARE Act into Law in California: What Employees Should Know

In October of 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 9 (AB 9) into law. The legislation is also known as the Stop Harassment and Reporting Extension (SHARE) Act. The law officially took effect in California on January 1st, 2020.

The primary purpose of the SHARE Act is to ensure that employees have sufficient time to bring a legal claim under FEHA. Here are three key things to know about the SHARE Act:

1. A Three-Year Statute of Limitations: For many years, employees have only had one year to initiate a FEHA claim. With the SHARE Act reforms, the statute of limitations for FEHA claims has been extended to three years. An employee can file a claim within three years of the date of the FEHA violation.
2. New Statute of Limitations Applies to Discrimination and Retaliation: Not only does the SHARE Act mentions “harassment” in its title, but sponsors of the bill emphasized the importance of stopping sexual harassment. At the same time, the new three-year statute of limitations also applies to discrimination claims and retaliation claims.
3. You Can Still Request a DFEH Investigation: When bringing a FEHA claim, employees have two broad options. They can request an immediate right to sue from the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) or they can go through DFEH’s investigation process. At the conclusion of the DFEH investigation process, the agency will issue a right to sue letter if the matter has not been resolved. When you move forward with a DFEH investigation, the three-year statute of limitations will not start until after DFEH issues its right to sue letter.

The lengthening of the statute of limitations for FEHA claims is an important reform for employee rights. That being said, there is no reason to wait to get started with the employment law claims process. If you were subject to discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, a Bay Area employment attorney will protect your rights.

Get Help From Our San Francisco Bay Area and Oakland Employment Lawyers Today

At Bracamontes & Vlasak, our professional California employment attorneys are skilled, justice-driven advocates for workers. If you have any questions about the SHARE Act or FEHA claims, the legal team at Bracamontes & Vlasak can provide support.

Please give us a call now at 415-835-6777 for a free, fully confidential case evaluation. We provide employment law representation throughout the Bay Area, including in San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont, Hayward, San Mateo, Daly City, San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Mountain View.