Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Idaho
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - Idaho - Last updated September 15, 2026
Idaho requires you to take a workplace harassment complaint to the Idaho Human Rights Commission before a court will hear it. Most states leave that requirement to be inferred from the structure of the statute. Idaho says it in words: Idaho Code 67-5908(2) provides that a complaint must be filed with the commission as a condition precedent to litigation. The commission says the same thing in plain English on its own site. There is no ambiguity to argue about, and no route to an Idaho courtroom that skips this step. The deadline is one year. Idaho Code 67-5907(1) allows any person who believes he or she has been subject to unlawful discrimination to file a complaint under oath with the commission stating the facts concerning the alleged discrimination within one year of the alleged unlawful discrimination. Two words in that sentence do more work than the number. The first is under oath: IDAPA 45.01.01.010.04 defines a complaint as a written statement signed under oath and filed with the commission, so the commission's intake questionnaire, which it describes as a step before filing, is not a complaint. The second is filed: under IDAPA 45.01.01.300.06.a the date a signed complaint is received at the commission's office is noted on it, and the date of notation is the date of filing. Idaho counts receipt, not postmark, so mailing on day 364 does not protect you. Coverage starts at five employees, but the headcount test has a qualifier and the definition has a second sentence that carries no headcount at all. Idaho Code 67-5902(6) defines an employer as a person, wherever situated, who hires five or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year whose services are to be partially or wholly performed in Idaho. The same subsection then says the term also means a contractor or subcontractor furnishing material or performing work for the state, any agency of or governmental entity within the state, and any agent of such employer, with no number attached. The federal route runs alongside all of this: an EEOC charge is due within 180 days of the act, extended to 300 days in Idaho because the commission is a deferral agency, and Title VII reaches only employers with 15 or more employees. If what you are facing involves assault, threats or stalking, contact emergency services and speak with an attorney, because a complaint form is not the right tool for that.
Find out where you stand in Idaho
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How long do I have to file a workplace harassment complaint in Idaho?
One year. Idaho Code 67-5907(1) allows a person who believes he or she has been subject to unlawful discrimination to file a complaint under oath with the Idaho Human Rights Commission within one year of the alleged unlawful discrimination. That is a genuine 365 days, not a dressed-up 300-day period. The clock runs from the discrimination itself rather than from when you discovered it or when your employment ended, and your federal charge deadline is shorter, so calendar that one first.
Do I have to file with the Idaho Human Rights Commission before I can sue?
Yes, and Idaho is unusually blunt about it. Idaho Code 67-5908(2) states that a complaint must be filed with the commission as a condition precedent to litigation. The commission says the same on its own site, telling readers that Idaho law requires an administrative complaint before a discrimination lawsuit can be filed. There is no direct route to an Idaho court for an Idaho Human Rights Act claim.
How do I get out of the Idaho agency process and into court?
You have to ask, and for the first year the answer can be no. Idaho Code 67-5907(6) lets a complainant request dismissal of an administrative complaint at any time, but a request made before 365 calendar days from the date of filing may be granted at the discretion of the administrator, who will attempt to contact the parties who have appeared and consider their interests. After 365 calendar days the commission shall, upon request of the complainant, dismiss the complaint and notify the parties. A complainant who never asks never receives the notice that starts the court clock.
Idaho is one of the few states whose statute says outright that the agency complaint comes before any lawsuit, and the way you get back out of the agency is unusual enough to be worth reading twice.
Idaho makes the agency step mandatory and says so in the statute itself. Idaho Code 67-5908(2) provides that a complaint must be filed with the commission as a condition precedent to litigation. That phrase removes the argument that exists in states where exhaustion is only implied by structure. The Idaho Human Rights Commission repeats it on its own site, telling readers that Idaho law requires an administrative complaint before a discrimination lawsuit can be filed.
Relevant Laws
Idaho Code 67-5907(1): One Year to File with the Human Rights Commission
A complaint must be filed with the Idaho Human Rights Commission within one year of the alleged unlawful discrimination. The period runs from the discrimination itself, not from discovery or from the end of employment.
IDAPA 45.01.01.300.06: Continuing Practices Move the Date of Occurrence Forward
Where the alleged unlawful practice is of a continuing nature, the date of occurrence is deemed to be any date after the practice began up to and including the filing date, so long as the discrimination continues. State the dates between which the continuing practices occurred, as IDAPA 45.01.01.300.03.c requires.
Idaho Code 67-5902(6): Five Employees Across Twenty Calendar Weeks
An employer is a person who hires five or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year whose services are performed partly or wholly in Idaho. Domestic servants hired to work in and about a household are excluded.
Idaho Code 67-5902(6): State Contractors and Government Entities Covered Without a Headcount
The definition also reaches a contractor or subcontractor furnishing material or performing work for the state, any agency of or governmental entity within the state, and any agent of such employer. No number of employees is attached to that part of the definition.
Regional Variances
How Idaho differs
The Idaho deadline is one year from the alleged
The Idaho deadline is one year from the alleged unlawful discrimination, under Idaho Code 67-5907(1). That is a full 365 days, longer than the 300 days the EEOC allows Idahoans and much longer than the federal 180-day baseline. The clock runs from the discrimination itself, not from when you discovered it and not from when the job ended. Do not treat the longer state window as a reason to wait, because the federal charge closes first.
Two procedural rules can defeat a complaint that looks
Two procedural rules can defeat a complaint that looks timely. Idaho Code 67-5907(1) requires the complaint to be under oath, and IDAPA 45.01.01.010.04 defines a complaint as a written statement signed under oath and filed with the commission, so submitting only the commission's intake questionnaire is not filing. IDAPA 45.01.01.300.06.a then makes the date of filing the date the signed complaint is received at the commission office, which is the harsher of the two possible rules. IDAPA 45.01.01.300.05 is generous about method, allowing personal delivery, mail, email or facsimile to the commission office in Boise, so use a method that lands the same day when time is short.
For harassment that is still going on, the most
For harassment that is still going on, the most important rule in Idaho is in the regulations rather than the code. Idaho Code 67-5907(1) says nothing about continuing practices, but IDAPA 45.01.01.300.06 provides that if the alleged unlawful practice is of a continuing nature, the date of occurrence is deemed to be any date after the practice began up to and including the date the complaint is filed, so long as the discrimination continues. IDAPA 45.01.01.300.03.c backs that up by requiring the complaint to state the dates between which the continuing practices are alleged to have occurred. Anyone reading only the statute would miss this entirely.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
Idaho Code 67-5902(6): State Contractors and Government Entities Covered Without a Headcount
See your deadline days after startingThe definition also reaches a contractor or subcontractor furnishing material or performing work for the state, any agency of or governmental entity within the state, and any agent of such employer. No number of employees is attached to that part of the definition.
Idaho Code 67-5908(2): A Commission Complaint Is a Condition Precedent to Litigation
See your deadline days after startingThe statute states in terms that a complaint must be filed with the commission as a condition precedent to litigation. There is no route to district court on an Idaho Human Rights Act claim that skips the agency.
Idaho Code 67-5907(6): Request the Administrative Dismissal That Opens the Courthouse
See your deadline days after startingA complainant may request dismissal at any time, but a request made before 365 calendar days from filing may be granted at the administrator's discretion. After 365 calendar days the commission shall dismiss upon request and notify the parties. No request means no notice.
Idaho Code 67-5908(2): Ninety Days from Issuance of the Notice of Administrative Dismissal
See your deadline days after startingA civil action must be filed in district court within 90 days of issuance of the notice of administrative dismissal. The trigger is issuance rather than receipt, so use the date printed on the notice.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idaho Code 67-5902(6): State Contractors and Government Entities Covered Without a Headcount | The definition also reaches a contractor or subcontractor furnishing material or performing work for the state, any agency of or governmental entity within the state, and any agent of such employer. No number of employees is attached to that part of the definition. | - | See your deadline |
| Idaho Code 67-5908(2): A Commission Complaint Is a Condition Precedent to Litigation | The statute states in terms that a complaint must be filed with the commission as a condition precedent to litigation. There is no route to district court on an Idaho Human Rights Act claim that skips the agency. | - | See your deadline |
| Idaho Code 67-5907(6): Request the Administrative Dismissal That Opens the Courthouse | A complainant may request dismissal at any time, but a request made before 365 calendar days from filing may be granted at the administrator's discretion. After 365 calendar days the commission shall dismiss upon request and notify the parties. No request means no notice. | - | See your deadline |
| Idaho Code 67-5908(2): Ninety Days from Issuance of the Notice of Administrative Dismissal | A civil action must be filed in district court within 90 days of issuance of the notice of administrative dismissal. The trigger is issuance rather than receipt, so use the date printed on the notice. | - | See your deadline |
Frequently Asked Questions
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