California AI Deepfake Workplace Harassment Attorneys

Representing Victims of AI-Generated Sexual Exploitation in the Workplace

At Lawless, Lawless & McGrath, we represent employees who have been victimized by one of the most disturbing forms of workplace harassment to emerge in recent years: the creation and distribution of AI-generated deepfake sexual images. Our San Francisco employment law attorneys have seen first-hand the devastation caused when an employee discovers that a supervisor or coworker has used artificial intelligence to manipulate photographs for sexual exploitation, while the employer stands by and fails to act. We are here to help right this wrong. Call us at 415-391-7555 for a confidential consultation.

When AI Becomes a Weapon Against Women in the Workplace

Deepfake technology allows a person to take a real photograph — an image from a company directory, a social media profile, or even a workplace event — and use artificial intelligence to manipulate it into a sexually explicit image. The resulting content is fabricated, but the harm to the victim is very real.

This is not a hypothetical concern. Our firm has obtained confidential yet significant results on behalf of clients who experienced this injustice.

California law is clear: when an employer knows that an employee is engaged in this kind of conduct and fails to address it, they can be held accountable. This is gender harassment. It is a form of sex discrimination. And it is actionable under both state and federal law.

What Is an AI Deepfake Sexual Image?

A deepfake image is a digitally manipulated photograph or video created using artificial intelligence. The technology can convincingly superimpose a real person’s likeness — their face, their features — onto another person’s body, including explicit or sexualized content. Until recently, creating this kind of material required advanced technical skills. That is no longer true. AI tools capable of generating deepfake sexual images are now widely available, and their misuse in workplace settings is increasing rapidly.

The images are fabricated, but they carry the victim’s identity. They are shared with the intent to degrade, humiliate, and harm. And when they circulate in a workplace — whether through messaging apps, email, or informal networks among coworkers — they create exactly the kind of severe and pervasive hostile work environment that California law prohibits.

The Legal Claims Available to You

Victims of workplace deepfake sexual harassment in California have several overlapping legal claims available to them, depending on the specific facts of their situation.

Gender Harassment and Hostile Work Environment

Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, employers are prohibited from allowing a workplace environment that is hostile based on an employee’s sex or gender. The creation, possession, or distribution of sexually explicit deepfake images targeting female employees constitutes gender-based harassment. The 2024 EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace confirmed that harassing conduct includes the distribution of sexually demeaning depictions of a protected class, explicitly including AI-generated images and deepfakes.

In 2025, the California Court of Appeals affirmed a $4 million award in Carranza v. City of Los Angeles, where a deepfake sexualized image of a female police captain was circulated among coworkers. The court held that the employer’s failure to take prompt corrective action created a hostile work environment under FEHA. This decision is among the most significant in establishing employer liability for deepfake harassment in California.

Sex and Gender Discrimination

The targeted creation and distribution of sexual deepfake images almost exclusively victimizes women. This targeting is itself a form of sex discrimination. When a company is aware that female employees are being singled out for this type of degradation and takes no meaningful corrective action, they are permitting discriminatory treatment based on gender.

Invasion of Privacy

California has strong constitutional and statutory privacy protections. Taking a person’s likeness — their face, their image — and placing it into sexually explicit material without consent is a serious violation of their right to privacy. California Civil Code Section 1708.86, enacted in 2019 and strengthened since, creates civil liability for the distribution of sexually explicit deepfakes without the depicted person’s consent. This claim can be brought against both the individual who created the images and, in appropriate circumstances, the employer who failed to prevent or stop the conduct.

Appropriation of Likeness

California law recognizes the right of every individual to control how their name, image, and likeness are used. The unauthorized use of a person’s likeness for sexual content — without any commercial purpose whatsoever — is a form of appropriation that gives rise to a civil claim. The victim did not consent to having their image used in this way. That lack of consent is the foundation of the claim.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

The conduct at issue — using AI to fabricate sexual images of a real person and circulating them in a workplace — is exactly the kind of extreme and outrageous behavior that California courts recognize as a basis for intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. Where the harm is severe, as it typically is in these cases, damages can be substantial.

California Criminal Law Protections

California SB 926, signed into law in September 2024, made it a crime to create and distribute sexually explicit AI-generated images of a real person without their consent when intended to cause serious emotional distress. While criminal prosecution is handled separately from civil claims, the existence of this criminal statute reinforces the severity with which California treats this conduct — and can strengthen the legal foundation of a civil case.

When the Employer Is Liable

Individual wrongdoers bear responsibility for what they create and distribute. But under California employment law, the employer is not always off the hook, especially when they knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to act.

Employer liability in deepfake harassment cases can arise when:

• A supervisor, manager, or coworker created or distributed deepfake sexual images of a female employee
• The employer received a complaint — formal or informal — and failed to investigate promptly
• The employer investigated but took no meaningful corrective action
• The conduct continued after the employer was put on notice
• The employer’s own policies did not address AI-generated content or digital harassment, leaving the door open for this kind of abuse
• The employer retaliated against the victim for complaining

California courts expect employers to respond to harassment promptly and effectively. Slow responses, incomplete investigations, and inadequate discipline all expose the company to heightened liability. Our attorneys know how to identify and document those failures.

What This Harm Looks Like in Practice

Victims of workplace deepfake sexual harassment often experience a range of severe consequences. The professional harm can be immediate and include difficulty concentrating, withdrawal from team interactions, fear of how widely the images have spread, and concern about their standing with supervisors and colleagues who may have seen the content.

The personal and psychological harm is often profound. Many victims describe feelings of violation, helplessness, and shame that are not easily resolved, even after the images are removed or the perpetrator is disciplined. The nature of this harm — that your image was used without consent for sexual exploitation — is one that courts and juries recognize as serious.

Damages available to victims may include:

• Compensation for emotional distress and psychological harm
• Lost wages and damage to earning capacity
• Punitive damages against employers who acted with malice or oppression
• Attorneys’ fees and costs under FEHA
• Injunctive relief to prevent further harm

What to Do If This Has Happened to You

The steps you take after discovering that deepfake images of you have been created or circulated at work can affect the strength of your case. Here is what we recommend:

1. Document what you know. Preserve any evidence of the images, the communications surrounding them, or the circumstances under which you became aware of the situation — but do so without distributing the content further.
2. Report it in writing. If you have not already done so, report the conduct to HR or your employer in writing. This creates a record and triggers the employer’s legal obligation to investigate.
3. Note the employer’s response. What did they say? What did they do? How long did it take? Write this down. The employer’s response, or lack of a response, is central to your case.
4. Do not resign without speaking to an attorney first. If your workplace has become intolerable, speak with us before taking any action that could affect your legal claims.
5. Contact us promptly. Claims under FEHA generally have a three-year statute of limitations, but acting early gives us the best opportunity to preserve evidence and build the strongest possible case.

Our Expertise in Gender Harassment and Workplace Exploitation Cases

Lawless, Lawless & McGrath has represented women in California workplaces for decades, fighting claims involving sexual harassment, gender discrimination, hostile work environments, and employer retaliation. The firm’s partners — Barbara A. Lawless, Therese M. Lawless, and Emily S. McGrath — are among the most established leaders in the Bay Area employment law bar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why Choose Lawless, Lawless & McGrath?

We are a San Francisco-based employment law firm with a decades-long record of holding employers accountable for workplace harassment and discrimination. We focus exclusively on representing employees — not companies — and we bring that perspective to every case we handle.

AI-generated deepfake harassment is a new form of an old problem: the exploitation and degradation of women in the workplace. California law has evolved to address it, and our attorneys are prepared to use every available legal tool on your behalf. We serve clients throughout California, including San Francisco, Oakland, and surrounding areas.

Contact a California AI Deepfake Workplace Harassment Attorney Today

If you have been targeted by AI-generated deepfake images in your workplace, you do not have to face this alone. At Lawless, Lawless & McGrath, we represent employees throughout California who have suffered gender harassment, invasion of privacy, and sexual exploitation at the hands of coworkers — and the employers who looked the other way. Our attorneys are ready to listen, evaluate your options honestly, and fight for the accountability you deserve. Call us at 415-391-7555 or contact us online to schedule a confidential consultation.