--- title: "A Customer Is Sexually Harassing Me: What Can I Do?" description: "Tell your manager and keep dated notes. The EEOC says a harasser can be a customer, and your employer can be liable if it knew and didn’t act." url: https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/customer-sexually-harassing-me-what-can-i-do language: en publisher: TipMax (Entermaurs Incorporated) date_published: 2026-09-23 last_verified: 2026-09-23 --- # A customer keeps sexually harassing me at work. What can I do? **Short answer:** **Report it to your manager, in writing if you can, and keep dated notes.** The EEOC says the harasser can be a customer, and an employer can be liable for harassment by customers if it knew or should have known and didn’t take prompt action. If it doesn’t stop, you can file a charge with the EEOC, generally within 180 calendar days, or 300 days where a state or local agency enforces a similar law. ## Step by step Say a regular keeps touching your back and commenting on your body, and it happened again tonight (illustrative). 1. **If you feel unsafe right now,** walk away from the table and get your manager. If you’re threatened or assaulted, call 911. 2. **If you feel safe doing it,** tell him it’s unwelcome: “Please don’t touch me.” The EEOC encourages this, but you don’t have to confront anyone to report it. 3. **Tell your manager the same shift,** and ask to have the table moved to someone else. Check your handbook for how to report harassment. 4. **Follow up in writing** (text or email) so there’s a dated record. 5. **Write your own notes that night:** date, time, table, what was said or done, who saw it, and who you told. 6. **If it keeps happening,** or nothing changes, contact the EEOC before your deadline runs out. > **Example follow-up text** > > “Hi Dana, following up on what I told you tonight. The guest at table 9 (the Thursday regular) touched my back and made comments about my body again, around 8:30. This is the third time. I don’t want to serve him. Can we talk about how you’ll handle it?” **Not tax or legal advice.** Names and details are made up. For your situation, contact the EEOC or an employment lawyer. ## Plain English ### Customers count The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says it’s unlawful to harass an employee because of their sex. That includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature, and also offensive remarks about someone’s sex. The EEOC says the harasser can be someone who isn’t an employee, such as a client or customer. The law doesn’t cover simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that aren’t very serious. Harassment is illegal when it’s so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment, or when it leads to a job decision like being fired or demoted. ### When the restaurant is responsible The EEOC says an employer is liable for harassment by non-employees it has control over, such as customers on the premises, if it knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action. That’s why reporting it to your manager matters: it puts the restaurant on notice. The federal law on sex harassment, Title VII, covers employers with 15 or more employees. If you work somewhere smaller, ask your state’s fair employment agency; state laws aren’t covered here. ### Retaliation is also illegal The EEOC says it’s unlawful to punish an employee for reporting harassment to a supervisor, answering questions in an investigation, resisting sexual advances, or filing a charge. Depending on the facts, the EEOC’s examples of retaliation include moving someone to a less desirable position and changing their schedule to make work harder. ### Filing with the EEOC: the deadline You generally need to file a charge within **180 calendar days** of the discrimination. That’s extended to **300 calendar days** if a state or local agency enforces a law against the same kind of discrimination. For ongoing harassment, the clock runs from the last incident, and the EEOC looks at all the incidents. Weekends and holidays count. The EEOC also says its deadline generally isn’t paused while you try to work it out inside the company. You can use your employer’s complaint process and file with the EEOC at the same time. ### How to file - Start online through the EEOC Public Portal, which sets up an interview. - Call **1-800-669-4000** to talk it through. The EEOC doesn’t take charges by phone, but it can tell you if your situation is covered and how to file. - Visit an EEOC field office. - File with your state or local fair employment agency. Where the EEOC has a worksharing agreement with that agency, a charge filed with one is also filed with the other. If your deadline is close, the EEOC says to call and ask for an immediate interview. ## Common mistakes - Only telling a coworker, not a manager. - Reporting it out loud and never following up in writing. - Waiting months to write anything down. - Assuming the internal complaint stops the EEOC clock. - Keeping your notes only on a work device or work account. ## Official sources - [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Sexual Harassment](https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment) - [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Harassment (employer liability)](https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment) - [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Time Limits for Filing a Charge](https://www.eeoc.gov/time-limits-filing-charge) - [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination](https://www.eeoc.gov/how-file-charge-employment-discrimination) - [U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Retaliation](https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation) ## Last verified September 23, 2026. Checked the EEOC’s Sexual Harassment, Harassment, Questions and Answers for Employees: Harassment at Work, Time Limits for Filing a Charge, How to File a Charge, and Retaliation pages. **Still open:** The EEOC’s Harassment page carries a notice that its content is being reviewed for compliance with the law and executive orders and will be revised. State and local harassment laws, which may cover smaller employers or give more time, are not checked here. ## Related - [I’m a server and I’m sick. How do I call out, and do I have to stay home?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/calling-in-sick-as-a-server) - [Do servers have to give two weeks’ notice?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/do-servers-have-to-give-two-weeks-notice) - [What can I do if my employer keeps part of our tips?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/employer-keeping-tips) - [How do I avoid slipping, getting burned, or cut on a serving shift?](https://www.tipmaxapp.com/us/answers/slips-burns-and-cuts-for-servers) ## How TipMax helps with this A dated log of the shifts you worked can help you pin down when something happened; your notes about the harassment itself belong somewhere you control. TipMax is an iPhone app for servers and bartenders that tracks tips and tip-outs and turns a restaurant menu into study flashcards. - Log cash and card tips per shift in seconds. - Download all your data as a CSV any time. Download TipMax free: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tipmax-study-track-earn/id6744850146 --- TipMax Answers gives practical tips for hospitality workers. Follow your restaurant’s training, allergen procedures, and local alcohol-service rules. It is **not legal, medical, or tax advice**.