California law defines sexual harassment as unwanted sexual advances, or visual, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. This definition includes many forms of offensive behavior and includes gender-based harassment of a person of the same sex as the harasser. The following is a partial list of prohibited behavior:

• Visual conduct: leering, making sexual gestures, displaying of sexually suggestive objects or pictures, cartoons or posters.
• Verbal conduct: making or using derogatory comments, epithets, slurs and jokes. Verbal abuse of a sexual nature, graphic verbal commentaries about an individual’s body, sexually degrading words used to describe an individual.
• Physical conduct: touching, assault, impeding or blocking movements.
• Offering employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors.
• Making or threatening retaliatory action after receiving a negative response to sexual advances.

At Witt Law Firm, we protect the rights of employees that have been directly sexually harassed in the workplace or have otherwise been subjected to a hostile work environment due to ongoing sexual harassment.  If you believe that your rights have been violated, please contact our office immediately for a free consultation.