A female employee of tech giant IBM has filed a $1.1 million sexual harassment lawsuit against her former supervisor and IBM. Susan Spiten says her ex-manager told her to expose more of her breast to boost sales, among other harassment.

Spiten, former senior saleswoman for IBM Australia who joined the company in 1999, said that because of two years of sexual harassment and bullying, she suffered from depression and eventually attempted suicide.

She said that she had informed IBM management of her former supervisor's actions, but one of the managers told her to go back to work and never again mention her complaints against her supervisor, Joe Arcuri.

Spiten charged in her complaint filed with the Federal Court that Arcuri ran his hands up her dress several times during a work dinner. He also asked her to lower her dress for him to have a better view of her breasts, which led her to push him away.

She also alleged that Arcuri called her on her mobile phone after office hours and spoke against her with clients. Spiten attributed the drop in her sales performance to the sexual harassment she suffered under Arcuri.

"'Susan, we're down orders this week, go on and show that pretty face of yours.... Get those boobies out and get sales,'" she quoted Arcuri saying.

Although Spiten remained with IBM but moved to another department, she eventually filed a complaint against Arcuri, but he did not respond to her accusations and instead resigned in August 2009.

But Arcuri just moved to another company which shared the same building with IBM and is a client of her employer.

"I couldn't deal with him. I had suffered a mental breakdown.... I was petrified of bumping into him downstairs," she told The Herald Sun.

Slobhan Keating of the law firm Maurice Blackburn, which is Spiten's legal counsel, said what happened to her shows a gap in corporate Australia.

"IBM's failure to act had a catastrophic effect on Susan's health," Keating said.

Spiten is still an employee of IBM Australia but has not worked for two years.

"At the moment I can't think that far ahead, I can't even think for next week because there are days where I don't leave home," Spiten told ABC.

IBM has not yet filed a response to Spiten's charges, but said it will defend the company and insisted it does not tolerate any type of harassment.

"The claimant remains an employee of IBM and continues to receive comprehensive benefits and support. The person against whom the harassment allegations were made left IBM two years ago," IBM said in a statement.

Keating confirmed Thursday that Maurice Blackburn is working on another sexual harassment case against IBM Australia.