Whirlpool Worker Lacks Proof of Sexual Harassment, Retaliation

A Whirlpool Corp. assembly line worker in Iowa failed to show a co-worker’s hovering and touching rose to the level of severe or pervasive sexual harassment or that the company retaliated against her for complaining about it, the Eighth Circuit ruled.

Circuit precedent sets a high bar for showing that harassment is offensive enough to violate Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the court said. Heather Lopez’s evidence didn’t clear that hurdle.

According to Lopez, co-worker Brian Penning repeatedly touched her and another female employee who worked on the built-in-refrigeration line. The other woman, who knew Penning since ...