Harassment at work can take many forms, including unwanted sexual advances, offering employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors, making or threatening reprisals after a negative response to sexual advances, leering, making sexual gestures, displaying of suggestive objects or pictures, cartoon or posters, making or using derogatory or racial comments, epithets, slurs, and jokes, verbal sexual advances or propositions, verbal abuse of a racial, sexist or sexual nature, graphic verbal commentaries about an individual's body or race, sexually or racially degrading words used to describe an individual, suggestive or obscene letters, notes or invitations, physical conduct: touching, assault, impeding or blocking movements. Certain kinds of harassment may be challenged in a lawsuit.

The most common forms of employment harassment that are actionable are sexual and racial harassment, though harassment based on disability, age (40 and over), religion, national origin, gender/sex, sexual preference (orientation), pregnancy, childbirth, use of medical leave and marital status may also be prosecuted in a civil suit. In California, a victim of sexual or racial harassment must complain to the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/) or the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (http://www.eeoc.gov/) before bringing a civil suit. It is important that you consult with a legal professional before taking action because strict deadlines and pleading rules apply to such claims.