Filing a Workplace Harassment Complaint in Pennsylvania
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team - Pennsylvania - Last updated September 15, 2026
Pennsylvania gives 180 days. Section 9(h) of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 P.S. Section 959(h), provides that any complaint filed pursuant to that section must be so filed within one hundred eighty days after the alleged act of discrimination, unless otherwise required by the Fair Housing Act. That is the number, and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is where the complaint goes. The statute stops there. It gives a bare act of discrimination trigger and says nothing about tolling or about conduct that is still going on. The rule that decides when the clock starts for harassment is in the commission's own regulation. 16 Pa. Code Section 42.14(a) provides that where the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice is of a continuing nature, the date of the occurrence is deemed to be any date up to and including the date on which the practice ceased. The same subsection provides that the computation of the 180 days does not include a period of time which is excludable as a result of waiver, estoppel or equitable tolling. Workplace harassment is usually a continuing practice, so the reader who counts 180 days from the first incident is counting from the wrong date. The agency step is required, in a specific and one directional way. Section 12(c)(1), 43 P.S. Section 962(c)(1), provides that invoking the commission's procedure does not foreclose your right of action in the courts of the Commonwealth, but the court door opens only when the commission dismisses the complaint or one year passes with no conciliation agreement, and then only on the notice the commission must send. Section 12(b) runs the other way: a complainant who institutes an action on the grievance without resorting to the act's procedure may not subsequently resort to it. Coverage reaches an employer with four or more persons within the Commonwealth under 43 P.S. Section 954(b), against the fifteen federal Title VII requires. Pennsylvania is a deferral state, so the parallel EEOC charge deadline is 300 days rather than 180. If what you are facing involves assault, threats or stalking, contact emergency services and speak with an attorney rather than starting with a complaint form.
Find out where you stand in Pennsylvania
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How long do I have to file a workplace harassment complaint in Pennsylvania?
One hundred eighty days. 43 P.S. Section 959(h) provides that any complaint filed pursuant to that section must be so filed within one hundred eighty days after the alleged act of discrimination, unless otherwise required by the Fair Housing Act. The harder question is what date those 180 days run from, because the statute does not say anything beyond the act of discrimination. For harassment, look at the commission regulation at 16 Pa. Code Section 42.14(a), which deems a practice of a continuing nature to occur up to and including the date it ceased. Your federal EEOC charge deadline in Pennsylvania is 300 days and runs on its own clock.
Does the Pennsylvania 180-day clock run while the harassment is still happening?
The commission's regulation says the date of occurrence for a continuing practice is any date up to and including the date on which the practice ceased. 16 Pa. Code Section 42.14(a) is where that rule lives, and it is a regulation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission rather than text in the Human Relations Act, which contains no continuing violation language at all. Harassment is usually a course of conduct rather than a single act, so the distinction matters a great deal here. If someone has told you that your claim expired 180 days after the first incident, that answer ignores the regulation.
Do I have to file with the PHRC before I can sue in Pennsylvania?
Yes, and the order is not optional. 43 P.S. Section 962(b) provides that if a complainant institutes any action based on the grievance without resorting to the procedure provided in the act, that complainant may not subsequently resort to the act's procedure. 43 P.S. Section 962(c)(1) confirms the reverse is safe: invoking the commission's procedures does not foreclose your right of action in the courts of the Commonwealth. Going to the agency first preserves both routes. Going to court first permanently closes the agency.
Two of the rules that decide a Pennsylvania harassment claim are not in the Human Relations Act at all, and reading only the statute produces the wrong answer on both.
The Pennsylvania deadline is 180 days, and the number is in the statute. 43 P.S. Section 959(h) provides that any complaint filed pursuant to that section must be so filed within one hundred eighty days after the alleged act of discrimination, unless otherwise required by the Fair Housing Act. That matches the federal floor rather than beating it. What makes Pennsylvania different is not the number but the date the number counts from.
Relevant Laws
43 P.S. Section 959(h): 180 Days to File a PHRC Complaint
A complaint must be filed within one hundred eighty days after the alleged act of discrimination, unless otherwise required by the Fair Housing Act. The statute supplies the number but no tolling or continuing violation rule.
16 Pa. Code Section 42.14(a): A Continuing Practice Is Dated From When It Ceased
The commission's regulation deems the date of occurrence of a practice of a continuing nature to be any date up to and including the date the practice ceased, and excludes periods excludable by waiver, estoppel or equitable tolling from the 180 days.
43 P.S. Section 954(b): Four Persons Within the Commonwealth
Employer includes the Commonwealth or a political subdivision and any person employing four or more persons within the Commonwealth. Religious, fraternal, charitable and sectarian bodies with four or more such persons are included for race, color, age, sex, national origin and non job related disability claims.
43 P.S. Section 954(c): Farm, Domestic, Live-In and Family Workers Are Excluded
The term employee excludes individuals employed in agriculture or domestic service, individuals who reside in the employer's personal residence as part of the employment, and individuals employed by their own parents, spouse or child.
16 Pa. Code Section 41.206: Sex Construed to Include Orientation and Gender Identity
The 2023 protected classes regulation construes sex under the act to include pregnancy, sex assigned at birth, gender including gender identity or expression, and affectional or sexual orientation. The statutory list at Section 955(a) does not contain those words.
Regional Variances
How Pennsylvania differs
The rule that decides when the clock starts is
The rule that decides when the clock starts is in a commission regulation, not in the act. 16 Pa. Code Section 42.14(a) provides that if the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice is of a continuing nature, the date of the occurrence is deemed to be any date up to and including the date on which the practice ceased. Harassment is typically a continuing practice rather than a single act. The statute contains no such language, so a page that quotes only 43 P.S. Section 959(h) will tell a Pennsylvania reader with ongoing harassment that time has run out when the regulation says the clock dates from the day it stopped.
The same regulation also preserves tolling, which the statute
The same regulation also preserves tolling, which the statute only gestures at. 16 Pa. Code Section 42.14(a) provides that the computation of the 180 days does not include a period of time which is excludable as a result of waiver, estoppel or equitable tolling. On the statutory side, 43 P.S. Section 959(j) requires the commission to dismiss with prejudice a complaint which in its opinion is untimely with no grounds for equitable tolling, which acknowledges that tolling exists without defining it. Whether any of it applies to your facts is a question for a Pennsylvania employment lawyer, and it is worth asking before assuming a late complaint is dead.
Filing runs on receipt, not on the postmark. 16
Filing runs on receipt, not on the postmark. 16 Pa. Code Section 42.14(c) provides that a complaint will be deemed filed on the date received by the commission. Mailing on day 180 does not preserve the claim. Section 42.14(d) softens a different edge: a complaint that does not conform to the requirements or is not verified is still filed on the date received, and it may be quashed only after written notice and an opportunity to respond.
Suggested Compliance Checklist
43 P.S. Section 954(b): Four Persons Within the Commonwealth
See your deadline days after startingEmployer includes the Commonwealth or a political subdivision and any person employing four or more persons within the Commonwealth. Religious, fraternal, charitable and sectarian bodies with four or more such persons are included for race, color, age, sex, national origin and non job related disability claims.
43 P.S. Section 954(c): Farm, Domestic, Live-In and Family Workers Are Excluded
See your deadline days after startingThe term employee excludes individuals employed in agriculture or domestic service, individuals who reside in the employer's personal residence as part of the employment, and individuals employed by their own parents, spouse or child.
16 Pa. Code Section 41.206: Sex Construed to Include Orientation and Gender Identity
See your deadline days after startingThe 2023 protected classes regulation construes sex under the act to include pregnancy, sex assigned at birth, gender including gender identity or expression, and affectional or sexual orientation. The statutory list at Section 955(a) does not contain those words.
43 P.S. Section 962(c)(3): Back Pay Reaches Back Three Years From Filing
See your deadline days after startingBack pay liability does not accrue from a date more than three years prior to the filing of a complaint charging violations of the act. The date the complaint is filed therefore fixes how far back lost wages can reach.
| Task | Description | Document | Days after starting |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43 P.S. Section 954(b): Four Persons Within the Commonwealth | Employer includes the Commonwealth or a political subdivision and any person employing four or more persons within the Commonwealth. Religious, fraternal, charitable and sectarian bodies with four or more such persons are included for race, color, age, sex, national origin and non job related disability claims. | - | See your deadline |
| 43 P.S. Section 954(c): Farm, Domestic, Live-In and Family Workers Are Excluded | The term employee excludes individuals employed in agriculture or domestic service, individuals who reside in the employer's personal residence as part of the employment, and individuals employed by their own parents, spouse or child. | - | See your deadline |
| 16 Pa. Code Section 41.206: Sex Construed to Include Orientation and Gender Identity | The 2023 protected classes regulation construes sex under the act to include pregnancy, sex assigned at birth, gender including gender identity or expression, and affectional or sexual orientation. The statutory list at Section 955(a) does not contain those words. | - | See your deadline |
| 43 P.S. Section 962(c)(3): Back Pay Reaches Back Three Years From Filing | Back pay liability does not accrue from a date more than three years prior to the filing of a complaint charging violations of the act. The date the complaint is filed therefore fixes how far back lost wages can reach. | - | See your deadline |
Frequently Asked Questions
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