AB 2777: Extends statute of limitations for sexual assault claims  

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) files, on average, more than 7,000 sexual harassment allegations every year. You’d think there’d be a significant decrease during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering that many employees transitioned to working from home. Yet, 6,587 sexual harassment private sector charges were filed with the EEOC in fiscal year 2020. That’s only a 12% decrease from 2019, and on par with the amount of charges filed annually from 2014-2017.

Last year, President Joe Biden signed H.R. 4445 (commonly referred to as the #MeToo bill) into law. It not only prohibits employers from requiring mandatory arbitration of claims involving allegations of sexual harassment or sexual assault going forward, but also nullifies any existing policies or agreements that require those claims to be arbitrated, as well.

On the heels of the #MeToo law, California’s new law (which expires Dec. 31, 2026) revives sexual assault claims that occurred on or after Jan. 1, 2009, that would otherwise be barred solely because the statute of limitations has or had expired. The bill also revives claims that occurred on or after the plaintiff’s 18th birthday when one or more entities are legally responsible for damages and the entity or their agents engaged in a “cover up,” which is defined as a concerted effort to hide evidence relating to a sexual assault that incentivizes individuals to remain silent or prevents information relating to a sexual assault from becoming public or being disclosed to the plaintiff, including, but not limited to, the use of nondisclosure agreements or confidentiality agreements.