Montana Workplace Harassment Laws: 1-Employee Rule, 180 Days (2026)

Sexual harassment is unlawful in Montana as sex discrimination under the Montana Human Rights Act. The Act has no harassment clause, but the Montana Supreme Court held in Harrison v. Chance, 244 Mont. 215 (1990): "We hold that sexual harassment is sexual discrimination under the Montana Human Rights Act." The prohibition it rests on, MCA 49-2-303(1)(a), bars an employer from discriminating against a person "in compensation or in a term, condition, or privilege of employment" because of a protected trait, and it reaches an "employer of one or more persons" (MCA 49-2-101(11)).

Montana's other distinctive rules are procedural: a complaint generally goes to the Department of Labor and Industry within 180 days, the Act is the exclusive remedy for the conduct it covers, and a lawsuit must follow a department or Commission dismissal decision within 90 days. For other states, see workplace harassment laws by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-20. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Montana state law on workplace harassment by employers, supervisors and coworkers under the Montana Human Rights Act, MCA title 49, chapter 2 (chiefly 49-2-101, 49-2-301 to 49-2-312, 49-2-501 to 49-2-512), the governmental code of fair practices in MCA 49-3-201, the definition of sex in MCA 1-1-209 (SB 437, signed March 24, 2026), and Montana Supreme Court case law. It does not cover wrongful discharge or the full complaint and lawsuit procedure (see Montana wrongful termination), damages estimates, criminal harassment or stalking, harassment outside employment, or federal-employee procedure.

Montana harassment rules at a glance

What Montana law prohibits

The employment section of the Human Rights Act states:

"(1) It is an unlawful discriminatory practice for: (a) an employer to refuse employment to a person, to bar a person from employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in a term, condition, or privilege of employment because of race, creed, religion, color, or national origin or because of age, physical or mental disability, marital status, or sex when the reasonable demands of the position do not require an age, physical or mental disability, marital status, or sex distinction; ... (2) The exceptions permitted in subsection (1) based on bona fide occupational qualifications must be strictly construed." (MCA 49-2-303)

The Act's definitions (49-2-101), its unlawful-practice sections and its procedure sections contain no harassment, sexual harassment or hostile-environment clause. Montana's harassment law comes from the Montana Supreme Court.

Harrison v. Chance: sexual harassment is sex discrimination

In Harrison v. Chance, 244 Mont. 215 (1990), the court held that "sexual harassment is sexual discrimination under the Montana Human Rights Act" and adopted the EEOC guideline definition:

"Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when ... (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment. 29 C.F.R. 1604.11(a)." (Harrison v. Chance, 244 Mont. 215 (1990))

The court added: "Because the Montana Human Rights Act was closely modeled after Title VII, reference to federal case law is both appropriate and helpful in construing the Montana Human Rights Act." Federal case law on harassment, including the federal hostile-environment standard, is summarized on the workplace harassment laws hub.

Which Montana employers are covered

"'Employer' means an employer of one or more persons or an agent of the employer but does not include a fraternal, charitable, or religious association or corporation if the association or corporation is not organized either for private profit or to provide accommodations or services that are available on a nonmembership basis." (MCA 49-2-101(11))

The Department of Labor and Industry puts it plainly: "Anyone who hires one or more persons is subject to the Montana Human Rights Act." The same definition applies to harassment and to every other employment claim under the Act. An "employee" is "an individual employed by an employer," but the term "does not include an individual providing services for an employer if the individual has an independent contractor exemption certificate issued under 39-71-417 and is providing services under the terms of that certificate" (MCA 49-2-101(10)).

Section 49-2-303(6) also provides that the chapter does not apply to "a business or enterprise on or near an Indian reservation with respect to any publicly announced employment practice of the business or enterprise required by a contract or other agreement under which preferential treatment may be given to an individual based on the individual's status as an Indian living on or near a reservation."

Federal Title VII, by comparison, defines an employer as a person with "fifteen or more employees for each working day in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year" (42 U.S.C. 2000e(b)).

Protected traits in Montana

MCA 49-2-303(1)(a) lists race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, marital status and sex. For age, disability, marital status and sex, the ban applies "when the reasonable demands of the position do not require" the distinction, and exceptions based on bona fide occupational qualifications "must be strictly construed" (49-2-303(2)). Section 49-2-303 sets no minimum age for the age ground.

Other sections of the Act add:

• Pregnancy: it is unlawful for an employer or an employer's agent to "terminate a woman's employment because of the woman's pregnancy" or to "refuse to grant to the employee a reasonable leave of absence for the pregnancy" (MCA 49-2-310).
• Vaccination status: it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate "in compensation or in a term, condition, or privilege of employment based on the person's vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport" (MCA 49-2-312(1)(b), amended 2025).
• Political beliefs, government employers: MCA 49-2-308, the section on discrimination by the state, bars discrimination "in compensation or in a term, condition, or privilege of employment because of that person's political beliefs" (49-2-308(1)(c)).

The SB 437 definition of sex

Since SB 437 (Chapter 778, Laws of 2025) was signed into law on March 24, 2026, "sex" as used in the Human Rights Act (49-2-101(21)) has the meaning in MCA 1-1-209. The bill passed the Legislature in 2025 and was signed by the Senate President on April 21, 2025, but was not signed by the House Speaker and the Governor until March 24, 2026 (Montana Legislature bill history, SB 437). MCA 1-1-209 reads in part:

"'Sex' means whether someone is male or female, which is distinguished based on the type of gamete, sperm or eggs, they are capable of or expected to produce, as dictated by their primary sexual anatomy. ... The term 'gender identity', if used in state law, administrative rules, or guidelines, may not be considered a synonym or substitute for sex or gender." (MCA 1-1-209(1)(i), (4)(c))

SB 437 is largely similar to a 2023 law that was declared unconstitutional in state district court. In March 2026 the lawyers for the plaintiffs in that case told the Missoula County district court that they would ask to add SB 437 to the pending lawsuit, and the Governor and House Speaker said the State will defend the law. The outcome of that challenge can change how the definition applies.

Section 49-2-303 does not list sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, hair texture or protective hairstyles, or military status.

Is the employer responsible? Can an individual be liable?

The Act sets no statutory rule on employer liability for harassment. In Vainio v. Brookshire, 258 Mont. 273 (1993), the Montana Supreme Court stated: "Under the theory of respondeat superior, employers are liable for the intentional sexual harassment in which supervisory personnel engage in the course of their employment."

The same opinion said that, unlike Title VII, the Act did not then include an agent of the employer in its definition, and that "In employment discrimination proceedings before the HRC, only the employer is potentially liable for discriminatory acts of its agents." That observation rested on the 1993 wording. The current definition of employer in MCA 49-2-101(11) expressly includes "an agent of the employer."

Two other sections run against any "person," a term defined to include "one or more individuals" (MCA 49-2-101(18)):

• Aiding and abetting: "It is unlawful for a person, educational institution, financial institution, or governmental entity or agency to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of an act forbidden under this chapter or to attempt to do so" (MCA 49-2-302).
• Retaliation: see the next section.

Retaliation for complaining

MCA 49-2-301 makes it "an unlawful discriminatory practice for a person, educational institution, financial institution, or governmental entity or agency to discharge, expel, blacklist, or otherwise discriminate against an individual because the individual has opposed any practices forbidden under this chapter or because the individual has filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation or proceeding under this chapter." Montana's rules on discharge outside the Human Rights Act are covered on the Montana at-will employment and Montana wrongful termination pages.

Deadlines and where to file

The Department of Labor and Industry's Human Rights Bureau takes complaints, and MCA 49-2-501(3) requires a written, verified complaint.

• General deadline: "a complaint under this chapter must be filed with the department within 180 days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred or was discovered" (49-2-501(4)(a)). There is no separate harassment deadline.
• Grievance extension: if the charging party first filed a grievance under "a collective bargaining agreement, contract, or written rule or policy," the complaint may be filed within 180 days after the grievance procedure ends, if it ends within 120 days after the practice occurred or was discovered; if it does not end within 120 days, "the complaint must be filed within 300 days after the alleged unlawful discriminatory practice occurred or was discovered" (49-2-501(4)(b)).
• Exclusive remedy: "The provisions of this chapter establish the exclusive remedy for acts constituting an alleged violation of chapter 3 or this chapter, including acts that may otherwise also constitute a violation of the discrimination provisions of Article II, section 4, of the Montana constitution or 49-1-102" (49-2-512(1)). In Harrison v. Chance (1990), the Montana Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment against a sexual harassment claim filed in district court on the ground that the Human Rights Commission provided the exclusive remedy. In Saucier v. McDonald's Restaurants of Montana, Inc., 2008 MT 63, it held that "allegations of non-consensual sex sound in tort and not in discrimination," and that a claim filed within the applicable law, including the statute of limitations, "is not barred" where it sounds in tort rather than discrimination.
• Lawsuit after 12 months: the department must dismiss a complaint when "a period of 12 months has elapsed from the filing of a complaint and neither the department nor the commission has held a hearing," unless a listed exception applies (49-2-512(2)(b)); it must also dismiss if the charging party fails to keep the department advised of address changes and that impedes the proceedings (49-2-512(2)(a)). "Within 90 days after the department has issued a notice of dismissal pursuant to subsection (2), the charging party may commence a civil action for appropriate relief on the merits of the case in the district court in the district in which the alleged violation occurred. If the charging party fails to commence a civil action within 90 days after the dismissal has been issued, the claim is barred" (49-2-512(3)).
• Lawsuit after a no-cause dismissal: when the department dismisses a complaint after its informal investigation (including an untimely complaint, which is dismissed on a finding of no reasonable cause under 49-2-501(5)), objections to the Human Rights Commission "must be filed with the commission within 14 days after the issuance of the notice of dismissal" (49-2-511(1)). A civil action may be filed within 90 days after the department's notice of dismissal or within 90 days after a Commission order affirming it; "If the charging party fails to commence the civil action in the district court within 90 days after the final agency decision has been issued, the claim is barred" (49-2-511(3)(a)).
• Dual filing: the department states that "When an employment discrimination complaint is filed it may be 'dually filed' with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This means that both state and federal laws will apply."
• Federal charge: the EEOC states that its "180 calendar day filing deadline is extended to 300 calendar days if a state or local agency enforces a law that prohibits employment discrimination on the same basis," and that in harassment cases the charge is due within 180 or 300 days "of the last incident of harassment." The EEOC's Seattle Field Office states that "an individual has 300 days from the date of alleged harm to file a charge" against an employer with 15 or more employees for discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion or disability in Montana (20 or more employees for age); the state complaint deadline remains 180 days, with the grievance extension above (49-2-501(4)).

An order under the Act "may not require the payment of punitive damages" except in the housing cases covered by 49-2-510 (MCA 49-2-506(2)). In a district court action after dismissal, "the court may provide the same relief as described in 49-2-506" and may in its discretion allow the prevailing party reasonable attorney fees and costs (49-2-511(3)(a), 49-2-512(3)). Remedies and the steps between complaint and suit are covered on the Montana wrongful termination page, and the Montana employment discrimination settlement calculator is an estimating tool, not a prediction of any outcome.

Does Montana require harassment training or a written policy?

Only for government. Under MCA 49-3-201(2), "All state and local governmental agencies shall: (a) promulgate written directives to carry out this policy and to guarantee equal employment opportunities at all levels of state and local government; (b) regularly review their personnel practices to ensure compliance; and (c) conduct continuing orientation and training programs with emphasis on human relations and fair employment practices."

For private employers, the Human Rights Act (MCA 49-2-101 to 49-2-313 and the procedure sections 49-2-501 to 49-2-512) and parts 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 of MCA title 39, chapter 2 contain no harassment-training, written-policy or posting requirement.

NDAs, confidentiality and arbitration

The Human Rights Act and parts 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 of MCA title 39, chapter 2 contain no provision limiting nondisclosure or confidentiality terms in harassment agreements or settlements. Federal law adds limits for sexual harassment disputes: the Speak Out Act makes nondisclosure and nondisparagement clauses agreed to before a sexual harassment dispute arises judicially unenforceable where the conduct is alleged to violate federal, tribal or state law, and the Ending Forced Arbitration Act lets the person alleging sexual harassment elect court over a predispute arbitration agreement; both are explained on the workplace harassment laws hub.

Is workplace bullying illegal in Montana?

The Human Rights Act reaches discrimination because of the traits it lists. Neither MCA title 49, chapter 2 nor the employment parts of MCA title 39, chapter 2 named above contain a provision on general workplace bullying that is unconnected to those traits.

Documenting harassment and workplace monitoring

The rules for recording a conversation at work, including a conversation with a harasser, are on the Montana workplace recording laws page. Employer monitoring of email, devices and workspaces is covered on the Montana employee monitoring laws page.

Related pages

• Workplace harassment laws by state
• Montana wrongful termination
• Montana at-will employment laws
• Montana employee monitoring laws
• Montana workplace recording laws
• Idaho workplace harassment laws
• North Dakota workplace harassment laws

This article provides general legal information about Montana workplace harassment law under the Montana Human Rights Act, MCA title 49, chapter 2, as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in Montana or the Montana Department of Labor and Industry's Human Rights Bureau.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is sexual harassment illegal in Montana?

Yes. In Harrison v. Chance (1990), the Montana Supreme Court held that sexual harassment is sexual discrimination under the Montana Human Rights Act, which bars discrimination in a term, condition, or privilege of employment (MCA 49-2-303(1)(a)).

Does Montana harassment law apply to small employers?

Yes. MCA 49-2-101(11) defines an employer as an employer of one or more persons or an agent of the employer. A fraternal, charitable or religious association or corporation is excluded if it is not organized either for private profit or to provide accommodations or services available on a nonmembership basis.

How long do I have to file a harassment complaint in Montana?

A written, verified complaint must be filed with the Department of Labor and Industry within 180 days after the practice occurred or was discovered (MCA 49-2-501(4)(a)). A grievance under a collective bargaining agreement, contract or written rule or policy can extend that, up to 300 days after the practice (49-2-501(4)(b)).

Can I go straight to court with a Montana harassment claim?

The Human Rights Act is the exclusive remedy for the acts it covers (MCA 49-2-512(1)), though the Montana Supreme Court has held that a timely claim sounding in tort rather than discrimination, such as one alleging non-consensual sex, is not barred (Saucier, 2008). A district court action may be filed within 90 days after the department issues a notice of dismissal, including the dismissal the department must issue when 12 months pass from filing without a hearing (49-2-512(2)(b), (3)), or within 90 days after a Commission order affirming a no-cause dismissal (49-2-511(3)(a)); objections to a no-cause dismissal are due to the Commission within 14 days (49-2-511(1)). A claim not filed in court within the 90 days is barred.

Does Montana law protect sexual orientation or gender identity at work?

MCA 49-2-303 does not list sexual orientation or gender identity. Since SB 437 was signed on March 24, 2026, sex as used in the Act ties to MCA 1-1-209, which defines sex as male or female and says gender identity may not be considered a synonym or substitute for sex or gender. SB 437 has been challenged in a Missoula County district court case.

Does Montana require sexual harassment training for private employers?

No. The training and written-directive duties in MCA 49-3-201(2) apply to state and local government agencies only, and the Human Rights Act sets no training requirement for private employers.

Is retaliation for reporting harassment illegal in Montana?

MCA 49-2-301 makes it unlawful for a person, educational institution, financial institution or government entity to discharge, expel, blacklist or otherwise discriminate against an individual for opposing a forbidden practice or for filing a complaint, testifying, assisting or participating in an investigation or proceeding under the Act.