HR is ignoring my hostile work environment complaint - what evidence do I need?

On mobile so apologies for formatting. I work at a tech startup (about 60 employees) and have been dealing with harassment from my manager for 6 months. It started with inappropriate comments about my appearance, then escalated to him making sexual jokes in front of the team, touching my shoulder/back during meetings, and sending me messages outside work hours that are definitely not appropriate.

I reported to HR 3 weeks ago via email with specific examples. They said they'd "look into it" and assigned me to work from home temporarily. But nothing has happened since - he's still my manager, still in his role, and now I'm worried this WFH thing is actually retaliation to keep me quiet.

I've been documenting everything in a Google doc but not sure if I have enough for a legal claim. What evidence do I actually need to prove hostile work environment? Should I go straight to a lawyer or give HR more time?

Those text messages are smoking gun evidence - especially if they came from his personal phone to yours outside work hours. Save them multiple ways (screenshots, backup to cloud, forward to personal email).

Do this TODAY:

Email HR: "I submitted a harassment complaint on [date]. It's been 3 weeks with no update on the investigation status or timeline. Please advise on next steps and expected completion date. I'm also concerned that my temporary WFH assignment may constitute retaliation as I did not request it and it impacts my ability to collaborate with my team."

This creates a paper trail showing: (1) you're following up appropriately, (2) you're concerned about retaliation, (3) HR is dragging their feet.

If they retaliate via performance review or PIP, that strengthens your case significantly. Document your work quality/output meticulously right now.

Ngl went through almost identical situation at my last company. HR slow-walked the investigation for 2 months, then concluded "no policy violation occurred" despite multiple witnesses and messages. I ended up filing an EEOC complaint and they settled within 6 months.

My advice: Start looking for a new job NOW while pursuing legal action. Even if you "win," the work environment will never be the same. I got a good settlement but left the industry entirely because of the stress.

Also - don't resign before talking to a lawyer! That can hurt your case. If they force you out, make them terminate you or do a negotiated exit with severance just saying.

Final update: Met with the employment lawyer. She said I have a strong case for both hostile work environment and potential retaliation. She's sending a formal demand letter to the company on my behalf, which should force them to actually complete the investigation and take action.

Also filing an EEOC charge this week to preserve my rights. Lawyer is working on contingency so no upfront costs.

Manager still hasn't been disciplined as far as I know, but HR scheduled a call with me for Thursday to "discuss findings." We'll see. At least I have legal representation now.

Thanks everyone for the advice and support. This has been incredibly stressful but at least I know I'm not crazy and this behavior isn't okay.

Your state department of labor might handle this faster than a lawsuit. In California, the Labor Commissioner can issue penalties pretty quickly.