Opinion ID: 2089011
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Establishment of the Sexual Harassment Charge

Text: The Sheriff's Department contends, alternatively, that Feleccia failed to meet her burden of establishing sexual harassment. At the outset, the department argues that the Commission wrongly considered Yanor's acts that occurred prior to sending the forged letter. Section 7A-102(A)(1) of the Act provides that, [w]ithin 180 days after the date that a civil rights violation allegedly has been committed, a charge in writing under oath or affirmation may be filed with the Department   . 775 ILCS 5/7A-102(A)(1) (West 1998). The 180-day filing requirement is mandatory in order to vest the Commission with subject matter jurisdiction of the charge. Allen v. Lieberman, 359 Ill.App.3d 1170, 1177, 296 Ill.Dec. 649, 836 N.E.2d 64 (2005); Weatherly v. Human Rights Comm'n, 338 Ill.App.3d 433, 437, 273 Ill.Dec. 299, 788 N.E.2d 1175 (2003); Faulkner-King v. Department of Human Rights, 225 Ill.App.3d 784, 791, 167 Ill.Dec. 330, 587 N.E.2d 599 (1992). The Commission held that because one actthe lettercontributed to the hostile work environment within the 180-day period, all of Yanor's behavior should be considered in determining liability. A sexual harassment claim based on a hostile work environment generally is made up of a series of events rather than a single event. Such a charge is timely as long as it is filed within 180 days of any act that is part of the hostile work environment. Jenkins v. Lustig, 354 Ill.App.3d 193, 196-97, 290 Ill.Dec. 114, 820 N.E.2d 1181 (2004); Gusciara v. Lustig, 346 Ill.App.3d 1012, 1019-20, 282 Ill.Dec. 449, 806 N.E.2d 746 (2004), citing National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 117, 122 S.Ct. 2061, 2074, 153 L.Ed.2d 106, 124 (2002) ([a] hostile work environment claim is composed of a series of separate acts that collectively constitute one `unlawful employment practice'), quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1) (2000). Provided that an act contributing to the claim occurs within 180 days of the filing date, a fact finder may consider all of the conduct that makes up the hostile environment claim. Jenkins, 354 Ill.App.3d at 196-97, 290 Ill.Dec. 114, 820 N.E.2d 1181. We find that the Commission properly considered all of the charged conduct by Yanor because part of Feleccia's claim occurred within 180 days of the date she filed her charge. Turning to the merits of Feleccia's sexual harassment claim, our review of the Commission's decision is limited to determining whether it was against the manifest weight of the evidence. Pinnacle, 354 Ill.App.3d at 828, 290 Ill.Dec. 139, 820 N.E.2d 1206; Trayling, 273 Ill.App.3d at 10, 209 Ill.Dec. 846, 652 N.E.2d 386. If the record contains any evidence supporting the Commission's decision, we must sustain the decision on review. Pinnacle, 354 Ill.App.3d at 828, 290 Ill.Dec. 139, 820 N.E.2d 1206. The Act defines sexual harassment as: any unwelcome sexual advances or requests for sexual favors or any conduct of a sexual nature when (1) submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment, (2) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting such individual, or (3) such conduct has the purpose or effect of substantially interfering with an individual's work performance or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.  (Emphases added.) 775 ILCS 5/2-101(E) (West 1998). The Commission's finding that Yanor committed a variety of sexually harassing acts that cumulatively constituted a hostile work environment was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. With regard to the forged Department of Public Health letter, the Commission found that Yanor's conduct promoted a sexual atmosphere at the Sheriff's Department generally and in Feleccia's work life particularly. It communicated a humiliating and false allegation of a sexual nature. See State of Illinois v. Human Rights Comm'n, 178 Ill.App.3d 1033, 1048, 128 Ill.Dec. 141, 534 N.E.2d 161 (1989) (offensive terms and remarks describing sexual acts, bodily functions, and parts of the female anatomy constituted conduct of a sexual nature). The letter was prepared at the Sheriff's Department on its equipment, delivered through inter-office mail, and opened by Feleccia at the office. She and another employee stopped working in order to deal with the letter. Sheriff Williamson directed department resources toward the investigation and involved an independent law enforcement agency. The Sheriff's Department contends that Feleccia failed to show that Yanor's conduct substantially interfered with her work performance because both Feleccia and Hinsey testified that Feleccia continued to work throughout the alleged incidents with Yanor, and that her working conditions did not change even after she received the forged letter. To the contrary, Feleccia testified that she missed work days and sleep because of the incident with the letter. The Sheriff's Department documented that Feleccia missed at least one week of work due to the incident. Moreover, the statute allows an employee to prove sexual harassment by showing either that the conduct substantially interfered with her work performance or that the conduct created an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment. 775 ILCS 5/2-101(E) (West 1992). The evidence of the forged letter, together with the other conduct proved by Feleccia, was sufficient to establish a hostile working environment under the Act.