In an empty stockroom, a male foreman attempted to intimidate a female employee by grabbing her in a bear hug and frightening her. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that this incident was best described as the foreman’s retaliation against the employee who had previously filed complaints about what she perceived as sexually harassing conduct. Therefore, the employee could not use the stockroom incident to justify what was ultimately an untimely filing of charges alleging a sexually hostile work environment. ( Heuer v. Weil-McLain , 7th Cir.)
Approximately a year before the stockroom incident, the foreman allegedly groped and kissed the unwilling employee. This behavior ceased after the two were placed on two different shifts. The employee later filed charges against the foreman regarding his previous conduct and the sexually hostile environment that it created. Unfortunately, she filed her charges over 300 days after the foreman’s conduct had ended. It was a year after the conduct ended when the foreman surprised the employee in the stockroom. The stockroom incident was the only incident within the 300-day limitations period.
