North Dakota Workplace Harassment Laws: 1-Employee Rule, 300 Days

Workplace sexual harassment is a discriminatory practice in North Dakota: the North Dakota Human Rights Act provides that, for discrimination based on sex, the term "discriminate" "includes sexual harassment," and it defines sexual harassment to include conduct with "the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's employment" (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.4-02(6)). The Act's employer section, § 14-02.4-03(1), bars adverse or unequal treatment in "a term, privilege, or condition of employment" because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital or public-assistance status, or lawful off-duty activity.

The Act reaches a person who employs one or more employees for more than one quarter of the year (§ 14-02.4-02(8)), so very small employers are covered, apart from family and domestic-service employment (§ 14-02.4-10(1)). A complaint may be filed with the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights, or a lawsuit brought in district court, within 300 days (§ 14-02.4-19(2)). 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 North Dakota state law on workplace harassment by employers, supervisors and coworkers under the North Dakota Human Rights Act, N.D.C.C. chapter 14-02.4 (chiefly §§ 14-02.4-02, 14-02.4-03, 14-02.4-18, 14-02.4-19 and 14-02.4-21), with notes on § 54-06-38 for state agencies and chapter 14-07.7 protection orders. It does not cover wrongful firing or the full complaint and lawsuit procedure (see North Dakota wrongful termination), damages estimates, criminal harassment or stalking, harassment outside employment, or federal-employee procedure.

North Dakota harassment rules at a glance

What North Dakota law prohibits

The Human Rights Act does not use a separate "harass" prohibition. Its employer section makes it a discriminatory practice for an employer:

"to fail or refuse to hire an individual; to discharge an employee; or to accord adverse or unequal treatment to an individual or employee with respect to application, hiring, training, apprenticeship, tenure, promotion, upgrading, compensation, layoff, or a term, privilege, or condition of employment, because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, status with respect to marriage or public assistance, or participation in lawful activity off the employer's premises during nonworking hours which is not in direct conflict with the essential business-related interests of the employer." (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.4-03(1))

Sexual harassment: § 14-02.4-02(6)

Sexual harassment enters the Act through the definitions section. After defining "discriminatory practice," § 14-02.4-02(6) provides that "The term 'discriminate' includes segregate or separate and for purposes of discrimination based on sex, it includes sexual harassment." It continues:

"Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated physical conduct or other verbal or physical conduct or communication of a sexual nature when: a. Submission to that conduct or communication is made a term or condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of obtaining employment, public accommodations or public services, or education; b. Submission to or rejection of that conduct or communication by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting that individual's employment, public accommodations or public services, education, or housing; or c. That conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's employment, public accommodations, public services, or educational environment; and in the case of employment, the employer is responsible for its acts and those of its supervisory employees if it knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action." (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.4-02(6))

The definition reaches employment, public accommodations, public services, education and housing; this page covers only the employment part.

Harassment on other traits

The Act defines harassment only for sex. Harassment because of race, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, marital or public-assistance status, or lawful off-duty activity has no statutory definition; it falls under the "adverse or unequal treatment" language of § 14-02.4-03(1).

The standard North Dakota courts apply

The statute's hostile-environment wording is "substantially interfering." The North Dakota Supreme Court, in Hysjulien v. Hill Top Home of Comfort, Inc., 827 N.W.2d 533 (N.D. 2013), a case brought under the Human Rights Act and Title VII, applied a five-element test drawn from its earlier case law: "(1) the employee belongs to a protected class; (2) the employee was subject to unwelcome sexual harassment; (3) the sexual harassment was based on sex; (4) the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment; and (5) the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take proper remedial action."

On the fourth element, the court stated that the plaintiff "must prove the conduct complained of is 'sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment.'" It added that "a single, isolated event is typically insufficient to create a hostile work environment," except "in the case of extreme incidents such as rape or sexual assault." The opinion does not discuss how the statute's "substantially interfering" wording relates to that test.

Which North Dakota employers are covered

Section 14-02.4-02(8) defines "employer" as "a person within the state who employs one or more employees for more than one quarter of the year and a person wherever situated who employs one or more employees whose services are to be partially or wholly performed in the state." The Act has one threshold; there is no separate number for harassment. The employer sections do not apply to "the employment of an individual by the individual's parent, grandparent, spouse, child, or grandchild, or in the domestic service of a person" (§ 14-02.4-10(1)).

That one-employee rule is far broader than federal law. Title VII 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)).

Who counts as an employee

"Employee" means "a person who performs services for an employer, who employs one or more individuals, for compensation, whether in the form of wages, salaries, commission, or otherwise" (§ 14-02.4-02(7)). The definition excludes a person elected to public office, a person chosen by the officer for the officer's political staff, and "an appointee on the policymaking level or an immediate adviser with respect to the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers of the office." It expressly includes "a person subject to the civil service or merit system or civil service laws of the state government, governmental agency, or a political subdivision."

Protected traits

The Act's policy section, definitions and employer section list the same bases: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, status with regard to marriage or public assistance, and participation in lawful activity off the employer's premises during nonworking hours that is not in direct conflict with the employer's essential business-related interests (§§ 14-02.4-01, 14-02.4-03(1)). Two definitions shape the list:

• Age: "'Age' insofar as it refers to any prohibited unfair employment or other practice means at least forty years of age" (§ 14-02.4-02(1)).
• Sex: "'Sex' includes pregnancy, childbirth, and disabilities related to pregnancy or childbirth" (§ 14-02.4-02(18)).

The Act does not name sexual orientation, gender identity, or hair texture and protective hairstyles as protected classes.

Employer responsibility and individual liability

For sexual harassment, the statute itself sets the employer-liability rule: "in the case of employment, the employer is responsible for its acts and those of its supervisory employees if it knows or should know of the existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action" (§ 14-02.4-02(6)). The fifth Hysjulien element uses similar knew-or-should-have-known language.

The Act's employer section, § 14-02.4-03, runs against "an employer." Section 14-02.4-18 reaches further, making it a discriminatory practice "for a person to conceal unlawful discrimination or aid, abet, compel, coerce, incite, or induce another person to unlawfully discriminate in violation of this chapter," and the Act defines "person" to include an individual and an "agent" (§ 14-02.4-02(13)). The text does not say in terms whether an individual supervisor or coworker can be held personally liable for the harassment itself.

Retaliation for complaining

The same section, § 14-02.4-18, makes it a discriminatory practice for a person "to engage in any form of threats, retaliation, or discrimination against a person who has opposed any unlawful discriminatory practice or who, in good faith, has filed a complaint, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or litigation under this chapter." Firings after a complaint, and how they fit with North Dakota's default employment rule, are covered on the North Dakota at-will employment and North Dakota wrongful termination pages.

Deadlines and where to file

The North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights takes employment discrimination complaints. Its employment page states: "you must file your charge no later than 300 days from the 'last date of harm' – the date you believe the most recent discriminatory event occurred."

• Agency or court, 300 days: a person claiming to be aggrieved by a discriminatory practice "may file a complaint of discriminatory practice with the department or, except as limited by this section, may bring an action in the district court" "within three hundred days of the alleged act of wrongdoing" (§ 14-02.4-19(2)). The Act sets no separate deadline for harassment.
• After a department complaint: "if a complaint of a discriminatory practice is first filed with the department, the period of limitation for bringing an action in the district court is ninety days from the date the department dismisses the complaint or issues a written probable cause determination" (§ 14-02.4-19(3)).
• Choosing court: "If a person elects to bring an action in the district court under this chapter, any administrative action pending before the department based upon the same discriminatory acts must be dismissed immediately" (§ 14-02.4-19(4)).
• Union, contract and public employees: a person whose "collective bargaining agreement, employment contract, or public employee rights provides a process through which recourse for discriminatory acts is available must exercise that process to completion before commencing an action"; where there is no statutory appeal, the court deadline is 90 days from the end of that process or from the department's dismissal or written probable cause determination, whichever is greater, and a request for an administrative hearing "must be made within twenty days" of the department's dismissal or probable cause determination (§ 14-02.4-19(5)).
• 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." Under § 14-02.4-21, the department "may disclose information obtained during an investigation to a federal agency if necessary for the processing of complaints under an agreement with the agency." The department's rules provide that a charge alleging "a violation of law administered by the EEOC under the then existing work-sharing agreement shall be forwarded to the EEOC" (N.D. Admin. Code § 46-04-01-03(7)), and that for dual-filed charges, absent a specific rule, the department "will rely on federal regulations and the compliance manual established by the EEOC for guidance" (§ 46-04-01-10).

The steps between filing and suit are on the North Dakota wrongful termination page, which also covers remedies. The North Dakota employment discrimination settlement calculator is an estimating tool, not a prediction of any outcome.

Training and written policies

The Human Rights Act imposes no harassment-training or written-policy requirement on private employers. Its policy mandate is for state government, in a different title: "Each state agency, department, and institution shall adopt and enforce a policy on employee harassment, including sexual harassment. The policy must clearly define harassment and specify the responsibilities of the employee, supervisor, and the agency, department, or institution" (§ 54-06-38). An agency that adopts no policy is "subject to the policy adopted by the North Dakota human resource management services division."

NDAs, confidentiality and arbitration

The Human Rights Act contains no provision limiting nondisclosure, confidentiality or arbitration terms in harassment agreements or settlements; its confidentiality text concerns department records and conciliation (§ 14-02.4-21). 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.

Protection orders for unwanted conduct

Outside employment law, chapter 14-07.7 lets "An individual who is or has been a victim of disorderly conduct, domestic violence, or sexual assault" petition for a civil protection order against "An individual who has committed disorderly conduct or sexual assault" (§ 14-07.7-02(1)). "Disorderly conduct" means "intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures intended to adversely affect the safety, security, or privacy of another individual" (§ 14-07.7-01(3)). The petitioner is the victim; the chapter is not specific to the workplace. The 2025 session law that placed these orders in chapter 14-07.7 (S.L. 2025, ch. 145) repealed the former restraining-order statute, § 12.1-31.2-01.

Is workplace bullying illegal in North Dakota?

The Human Rights Act reaches harassment and unequal treatment because of the traits it lists. It contains no provision on general workplace bullying that is unconnected to one of those traits.

Documenting harassment and workplace monitoring

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

Related pages

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

This article provides general legal information about North Dakota workplace harassment law under the North Dakota Human Rights Act, N.D.C.C. chapter 14-02.4, as of 2026-10-20. It is not legal advice. For advice about a specific situation, contact a lawyer licensed in North Dakota or the North Dakota Department of Labor and Human Rights.

Last updated: 2026-10-20.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is sexual harassment at work illegal in North Dakota?

Under N.D.C.C. § 14-02.4-02(6), discrimination based on sex includes sexual harassment, and § 14-02.4-03(1) makes discrimination in the terms, privileges or conditions of employment a discriminatory practice. The employer is responsible for its own and its supervisors' acts if it knows or should know of the harassment and fails to take timely and appropriate action.

Does North Dakota harassment law apply to small businesses?

Yes. The Human Rights Act defines an employer as a person within the state who employs one or more employees for more than one quarter of the year (§ 14-02.4-02(8)). The employer sections do not apply to employment by a parent, grandparent, spouse, child or grandchild, or in the domestic service of a person (§ 14-02.4-10(1)).

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

A complaint may be filed with the Department of Labor and Human Rights, or an action brought in district court, within 300 days of the alleged act (§ 14-02.4-19(2)). If the department gets the complaint first, the court deadline is 90 days after it dismisses the complaint or issues a written probable cause determination. Different timing applies where a collective bargaining agreement, employment contract or public-employee rights provide a discrimination process (§ 14-02.4-19(5)).

Can I sue in court without going to the department first in North Dakota?

Section 14-02.4-19(2) allows an aggrieved person to bring an action in district court within 300 days, except as limited by that section. If a person elects to go to court, any pending department action on the same acts must be dismissed (§ 14-02.4-19(4)). Employees with a collective bargaining, contract or public-employee process for discrimination complaints must complete it first (§ 14-02.4-19(5)).

What counts as a hostile work environment in North Dakota?

The statute covers sexual conduct with the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's employment (§ 14-02.4-02(6)). In Hysjulien (2013), the North Dakota Supreme Court required conduct sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of employment, noting that a single isolated event is typically insufficient except in extreme incidents such as rape or sexual assault.

Is sexual orientation protected under North Dakota's Human Rights Act?

The Act does not name sexual orientation or gender identity. Its protected traits are race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, status with respect to marriage or public assistance, and lawful off-duty activity that does not directly conflict with the employer's essential business interests. Federal Title VII, which covers employers with 15 or more employees, is separate: in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) the U.S. Supreme Court held that 'An employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender defies the law'; see the workplace harassment laws hub.

Does North Dakota require harassment training for private employers?

The Human Rights Act does not. Section 54-06-38 requires each state agency, department and institution to adopt and enforce a harassment policy.

Is retaliation for reporting harassment illegal in North Dakota?

Section 14-02.4-18 makes it a discriminatory practice for a person to threaten, retaliate or discriminate against someone who opposed a discriminatory practice or, in good faith, filed a complaint, testified, assisted or participated in a proceeding under the Act.