Other Forms of Sexual Harassment at Work: California Law

Sexual harassment does not require physical contact or explicit words. California law recognizes that non-verbal conduct, visual materials, digital behavior, and a wide range of other actions can create an illegal hostile work environment. If something at your workplace makes you feel sexually targeted, objectified, or unsafe — even if no one touched you and nothing was said directly — you may have a harassment claim.

How California FEHA Defines Sexual Harassment Broadly

California's Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Government Code § 12940(j), defines sexual harassment to include unwelcome conduct "of a sexual nature" — a deliberately expansive phrase that courts have interpreted to cover verbal, physical, visual, non-verbal, and digital conduct. FEHA's reach is intentionally broad because the California Legislature recognized that harassment takes many forms, evolves with technology, and often occurs in ways that are difficult to categorize.

The law distinguishes between two categories of harassment:

• Quid pro quo: Conditioning employment on sexual compliance (covered in depth on our Requesting Sexual Favors page)
• Hostile work environment: Conduct that is severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment

The forms of harassment covered on this page primarily fall under the hostile work environment category — and they are no less legally serious than physical touching or explicit verbal requests.

Non-Verbal Sexual Harassment

Non-verbal sexual harassment is conduct that communicates sexual intent or creates a sexualized environment without words being spoken. This is one of the most commonly misunderstood categories — many victims are told "nothing happened" because there was no speech or physical contact. That is legally incorrect.

Non-verbal conduct that can constitute sexual harassment includes:

• Leering and staring: Persistent, deliberate sexual staring at an employee's body — especially when the victim has indicated discomfort — is non-verbal harassment. It communicates sexual objectification without a word being spoken.
• Sexual gestures: Obscene gestures, mimicking sexual acts, or making suggestive hand signals directed at or in the presence of an employee.
• Blocking movement: Physically positioning oneself to block an employee's path, corner them, or prevent them from leaving a space — creating physical intimidation of a sexual nature.
• Inappropriate body language: Deliberate, suggestive positioning, repeatedly standing too close in a sexualized way, or mimicking sexual attention directed at an employee.
• Winking or blowing kisses: Persistent sexual non-verbal communications directed at an employee who has not welcomed them.
• Unwanted sexually suggestive gifts or notes: Anonymous or attributed written materials, gifts, or objects with sexual connotations left at an employee's workspace.

Visual Sexual Harassment

Visual harassment involves exposing employees to sexually explicit, suggestive, or demeaning imagery in the workplace. California FEHA explicitly covers this category, and it is taken seriously by courts and the California Civil Rights Department (CRD).

Visual sexual harassment includes:

• Displaying sexually explicit photographs, posters, calendars, or drawings in shared workspaces
• Using sexually explicit images as computer screensavers, wallpapers, or backgrounds in shared or visible areas
• Circulating sexual images via email, text, Slack, or other platforms to employees who did not request them
• Leaving sexual materials — magazines, printouts, objects — at an employee's workstation
• Displaying sexual cartoons, memes, or illustrations in shared digital workspaces
• Showing an employee explicit videos or images on a phone or screen without consent

It does not matter whether the material was created by the harasser or simply shared. Deliberately exposing employees to sexually explicit content in a work context is harassment. It also does not matter whether the image was "just a joke" or part of an email chain — the effect on the employee receiving it is what the law cares about.

Digital and Online Sexual Harassment

As work has moved increasingly online — through remote work, digital communication platforms, and social media — sexual harassment has followed. California law applies fully to digital conduct, and in many ways, digital harassment is easier to prove because it leaves a permanent record.

Workplace Platform Harassment (Slack, Teams, Email)

Sending unwanted sexual messages, images, or content through workplace communication tools is sexual harassment under FEHA. This includes:

• Sexually suggestive messages in direct messages or group chats
• Sexual emojis, GIFs, or memes sent repeatedly to an unwilling recipient
• Sharing or forwarding explicit content through workplace channels
• Making sexual comments about an employee in group chats visible to colleagues

Personal Device and Social Media Harassment

Harassment that begins on personal devices or social media can still give rise to a workplace harassment claim if it affects the work environment. Examples include:

• A supervisor who sends unwanted sexual messages to an employee via personal text or Instagram
• A coworker who makes sexual posts about an employee on their personal social media that colleagues see
• An employer who monitors an employee's personal social media and makes sexualized comments about what they find

The key is whether the digital conduct spills into the work environment — whether it affects the victim's ability to do their job comfortably, changes how colleagues treat them, or creates an environment they dread entering.

Unsolicited Explicit Content (Cyberflashing)

Sending unsolicited explicit images — sometimes called "cyberflashing" — via AirDrop, text, email, or any digital means to an employee who did not request them is a form of sexual harassment. California law is clear that nonconsensual exposure to explicit content, regardless of the medium, is not acceptable in the workplace.

Harassment That Doesn't Fit a Single Category

Some forms of workplace sexual harassment defy easy categorization. The law is built to capture all of them. Additional forms of harassment covered by California FEHA include:

Stalking and Surveillance

An employee who is followed, monitored, or stalked — whether physically at work or digitally — by a coworker or supervisor with sexual motivation has a harassment claim. This includes following someone to their car, tracking their social media, or showing up at personal locations outside work.

Third-Party Harassment

California FEHA protection extends to harassment by non-employees — clients, customers, vendors, or contractors — if the employer knew or should have known about the conduct and failed to take corrective action. If a client repeatedly sends sexual messages to your work email and your employer tells you to "just ignore it," your employer may be liable.

Same-Sex and Gender-Non-Conforming Harassment

FEHA prohibits harassment regardless of the genders of the harasser and the victim. Same-sex harassment, harassment of transgender employees, and harassment targeting employees for not conforming to gender stereotypes are all fully covered.

Harassment for Refusing to Participate in a Sexualized Culture

If an employee is targeted, excluded, or penalized for refusing to participate in workplace sexual banter, jokes, or conduct — for being the person who does not laugh at the jokes or objects to the culture — that exclusion itself can be actionable harassment or retaliation.

Proving Non-Verbal and Visual Harassment Claims

One challenge with non-verbal and visual harassment is documentation. Unlike a written message, a leer or a gesture does not leave a timestamp. Here is how to build a strong case:

1. Keep a contemporaneous log. After every incident, write it down immediately — the date, time, location, exactly what happened, who was present, and how you felt. This log is powerful evidence.
2. Identify witnesses. If colleagues observed the conduct, note their names. They may be willing to provide statements or corroborate your account.
3. Preserve visual evidence. If explicit images were displayed or sent, screenshot them immediately to a personal device before they can be deleted.
4. Report to HR in writing. A written complaint creates a legal record and triggers the employer's obligation to investigate. Describe the specific conduct as precisely as possible.
5. Check for surveillance footage. If the incident occurred in a recorded area, request that footage be preserved before it is overwritten. An attorney can help compel this through legal process if necessary.

What Remedies Are Available

Victims of all forms of workplace sexual harassment — including non-verbal, visual, and digital — can pursue the same full range of remedies under California FEHA:

• Lost wages and reinstatement if you left or were terminated
• Compensatory damages for emotional distress and psychological harm
• Medical and therapy expense reimbursement
• Punitive damages for egregious employer conduct
• Attorney's fees and costs if you prevail

The process begins with filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD), either to initiate their investigation or to obtain an immediate right-to-sue notice. You have three years from the last incident of harassment to file your CRD complaint under California AB 9.