Can a customer or client sexually harass you at work?
Yes. Workplace sexual harassment can come from someone who is not your employer or coworker. Customers, clients, patients, residents, vendors, contractors, and other third parties can create an unlawful hostile work environment.
An employer may have legal responsibility when it knew or should have known about harassment by a nonemployee, had the ability to control the situation or otherwise protect the employee, and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action.
Jurisdiction note: This article provides general information for employees in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and is not legal advice. Employer responsibility depends on the severity and frequency of the conduct, notice, the employer’s ability to control the harasser or work environment, and the action the employer took after learning about it.
Five questions matter most
- Was the conduct sexual or sex-based and unwelcome?
- Was it severe or pervasive enough to affect the work environment—or did it lead to a job consequence?
- Did management know or should it reasonably have known?
- What control did the employer have over the customer, client, patient, vendor, or assignment?
- What did the employer do after learning about it?
Sexual harassment is not limited to coworkers and supervisors
The EEOC expressly recognizes that the harasser can be a nonemployee, including a client or customer. The same basic harassment principles apply: the conduct must be unwelcome and tied to sex, and hostile-environment claims generally depend on whether the conduct was severe or pervasive in context.
Third-party harassment can arise in many settings:
- restaurants and hospitality;
- healthcare and home care;
- retail;
- financial and professional services;
- sales;
- property management;
- education;
- transportation;
- construction and contracting;
- temporary staffing; and
- remote or online client-facing work.
Examples of customer or client sexual harassment
When can the employer be responsible?
For harassment by nonemployees, the core question is often whether the employer knew or should have known and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action within its control.
That means the analysis may include:
- what the employee reported;
- whether managers witnessed the conduct;
- whether prior employees complained about the same person;
- how often the third party visited or interacted with workers;
- whether the employer could ban, remove, warn, reassign, block, or supervise the third party;
- whether security or staffing measures were available;
- whether the employee asked for help; and
- whether the employer’s solution protected the employee or punished the employee instead.
What if the employer says it cannot control the customer?
The employer’s actual ability to control the third party matters. Some employers have extensive control: they can remove a customer from the premises, end a client relationship, restrict a vendor, switch a patient-care plan, block an online account, use security, or require another point of contact.
Other settings are more complicated. A healthcare employer, for example, may need to balance patient care with employee safety. A law-enforcement or public-facing employer may have less ability to control members of the public. The legal question is whether the employer took reasonable corrective measures available under the circumstances.
Can the employer simply move you?
Sometimes an employee may request reassignment as an immediate safety measure. But an employer should not automatically solve the problem by imposing a worse job on the person who complained.
Document if the “solution” causes:
- reduced hours;
- lost tips or commissions;
- a worse schedule;
- loss of a valuable account;
- longer travel;
- lower-status duties;
- lost promotion opportunities; or
- other material disadvantages.
If you asked for a particular change, preserve that request so the record is clear.
How should you report customer or client harassment?
Follow the employer’s harassment policy when it provides a safe, workable channel. A written complaint should identify:
- the customer, client, patient, vendor, or contractor;
- the date, time, location, and communication platform;
- the exact words or conduct;
- witnesses;
- messages or photographs;
- earlier incidents;
- what you told management;
- why the conduct was unwelcome; and
- the protection or corrective action you are requesting.
For a full reporting framework, review how to safely report sexual harassment at work.
Sample report language
I am asking the company to investigate and take reasonable steps to stop the conduct and protect me from further contact or retaliation. Please confirm how future incidents should be reported and what interim measures will be used.
What if your manager tells you to tolerate it?
Comments such as these may be important:
- “That customer spends too much money to upset.”
- “Just flirt back.”
- “That is part of working in hospitality.”
- “He does that to everyone.”
- “You are being too sensitive.”
- “We cannot afford to lose that client.”
Write down the exact statement, speaker, date, and witnesses. Preserve any follow-up email.
Can you be retaliated against for complaining?
Employers generally may not punish employees for reasonably reporting sexual harassment or participating in a harassment investigation. Retaliation may include firing, reduced hours, undesirable assignments, lost commissions, discipline, exclusion, or pressure to resign.
Read how to prove workplace retaliation if treatment changes after the complaint.
What evidence helps?
Save the conduct, notice, and response
- texts, emails, chat messages, or social media;
- incident reports;
- security or camera references if known;
- witness names;
- customer or client identifying information you are lawfully allowed to keep;
- your written complaint;
- manager responses;
- prior reports about the same third party;
- schedules, commissions, tips, or assignment changes;
- performance reviews;
- discipline or termination documents; and
- a dated timeline.
Do not remove patient records, customer databases, privileged material, trade secrets, or other confidential records you are not entitled to possess. Preserve evidence lawfully.
New Jersey and Pennsylvania protections
Federal Title VII generally covers employers with 15 or more employees. New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination reaches New Jersey employers regardless of size and prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation. Pennsylvania’s Human Relations Act generally covers employers with four or more employees.
Employees working in Philadelphia may also have rights under the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance.
Related Swartz resources
- Sexual harassment attorneys
- How to safely report sexual harassment
- How to prove retaliation
- What counts as sexual harassment
Frequently asked questions
Can a customer sexually harass an employee?
Yes. Title VII recognizes that sexual harassment can come from customers and other nonemployees.
Can a client sexually harass me through text messages?
Potentially. Digital conduct connected to work can contribute to a hostile work environment. Preserve the original messages.
What if the customer only harassed me once?
A minor isolated incident may not satisfy the final legal standard, but an especially serious incident can matter. Employees may report conduct before it escalates.
Does my employer have to fire the customer?
No single remedy is required in every case. The response should be prompt and reasonably effective under the circumstances.
Can my employer move me instead of the customer?
Sometimes a temporary reassignment may be appropriate, especially if you request it. A materially worse assignment imposed on the complainant may create additional concerns.
What if the harasser is a patient with dementia or another condition?
The context matters, but the employer still should evaluate reasonable steps to protect employees, such as staffing, care-plan, supervision, or safety measures.
Can I refuse to serve a customer who harassed me?
The safest approach depends on immediate safety, employer policy, and available protections. Report the conduct and request clear instructions rather than simply abandoning duties when circumstances allow.
What if management saw the harassment but I never filed a written complaint?
Employer knowledge may sometimes be shown without a formal complaint, but written reporting can make notice easier to prove.
Can I be fired for complaining about a client?
An employer should not fire or punish an employee because the employee reasonably reported sexual harassment.
When should I talk to a lawyer?
Consider advice when harassment continues after management knows, the employer protects the client instead of you, you lose work or income, or retaliation begins.
Talk with Swartz Swidler about harassment by a customer, client, patient, or vendor
Sexual harassment does not become acceptable because the person responsible is valuable to the business or is not on the payroll. Swartz Swidler represents employees in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and South Jersey in sexual harassment, retaliation, hostile-work-environment, and wrongful-termination matters.
