“Travis”, “Leo” and “Isaac”¹

Despite receiving multiple warnings that she was an “HR nightmare” and a dangerous crane operator, Maxim’s Area GM, Bill Barlow, hired “Cathy” to operate a crane at INL. Cathy frequently touched coworkers inappropriately, constantly made comments about her genitalia and breasts, regularly called a coworker “fagg*t”, and discussed her sex life and sexual desires regarding coworkers. She operated her crane in such a reckless manner that an employee at INL said, “it’s not a matter of if, but when something happens.” 

“Adam” another employee, emailed Maxim Safety Superintendent Robert Boursaw about her sexually inappropriate comments and “out of concern for the well-being and morale of [his] coworkers”,² but the harassment continued, as did her unsafe work practices. Adam sent a second written complaint to Maxim HR, in which he described Cathy’s continued sexual harassment and dangerous work practices. He quoted a Maxim client saying, “I have never seen an operator operate like that. The booms slap all the time, and loads are swinging all around.” 

In January 2024 Pfizer announced that all US employees were required to spend 2.5 days a week in the office. Given Pfizer’s published guidance that “remote options can help employees [suffering from migraine] retain their productivity while prioritizing their health,” her success on Nurtec working remotely for four years, and the fact that her working from home cost Pfizer zero, Jennifer expected that her requested accommodation–continuing to work remotely–would be granted. Pfizer’s response was: “If you are experiencing frequent migraines, then you are not able to work even while at home and should file for an STD or FMLA.” This was obviously false since Pfizer had benefitted from her four productive years working from home.

Jennifer’s neurologist was also a contracted Pfizer expert. She asked him to explain to Pfizer why working from home was a necessary accommodation. He wrote to Pfizer that the ADA requires the accommodation, and that “The American Migraine Foundation … recommends remote work as an accommodation and this accommodation is reasonable and necessary for her continued employment.” Pfizer’s Disability/ADA Appeal team responded that:

Her harasser, a CVS employee, touched her breast, lured her into a back room and cornered her, told her he knew spots where there were no security cameras and implied he could do whatever he wanted to her.

By February 2022 she had told Human Resources what the man was doing to her including that he had touched her breast. But CVS kept scheduling her for shifts alone with him, and he kept doing the same things, even while other people were there. She tried again to stop him, this time complaining to her supervisor in the store, but it still didn’t stop.

On May 9, 2025, the Store Manager at the Newport News location approached “Jay,” the employee who filed the charge. He presented Jay with a form called “Acknowledgement of Confidentiality for Investigations.” The Manager read the form out loud and asked Jay to sign it. Among other things, it included this language:

I have not recorded any part of this interview and I acknowledge that electronic recordings of any conversation without the consent of all parties is considered a violation of company policy and may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

The following is taken from documents filed with the EEOC against Buffalo Wild Wings in Illinois. “Bill” (name changed to protect the victim), was subjected to frequent, sexually offensive comments by the General Manager of a Buffalo Wild Wings franchise in Marion, Illinois, where he worked. The GM aggressively taunted him, commenting about Bill’s sexual preferences, asking for his phone number so Bill could experience being with another man, and making statements about what “type of gay” the GM thought Bill was. Sometimes the GM would stand directly behind Bill at close proximity, causing Bill to feel physically unsafe and triggered. At the time Bill began his employment at Buffalo Wild Wings, he was a sexual assault survivor who was recovering from post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the constant sexualized taunting by the GM sent Bill into an emotional tailspin. The documents filed with the EEOC suggest that Buffalo Wild Wings could have and should have prevented this.

Bill was told by multiple coworkers that the GM had already been transferred from two other Buffalo Wild Wings locations due to complaints of sexual harassment. Soon after the GM was transferred to Marion, a Line Cook reported another cook for sexual harassment. The GM took the Line Cook into the office and told her that because it was a restaurant, sexual harassment was to be expected. That sent a clear message that sexual harassment was to be tolerated.

Around the time of the Line Cook’s complaint, another coworker sent the Director of Operations, Jon Bruenig, this email:

A Mother and Daughter have filed Charges with the Virginia Attorney General’s office and the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC), alleging that they were both sexually harassed while working at the Virginia Diner by the Kitchen Manager. The Daughter was only 17, below the age of consent in Virginia, when she was physically sexually harassed. The Virginia Diner is owned by the The Virginia Food Group whose CEO is Andrew Whisler.

The following is taken from the filed Charges which quote sworn statements.

The Kitchen Manager said to the daughter, repeatedly, are you still a virgin, whoever comes between your legs is lucky, we need to get you a real man who can satisfy you and provide for you like a real man can. He put his hand on her back and rubbed it down to her behind. He said “Let me get between your legs” when bending down to get something while she stood at the register. Returning a few minutes later saying “did you get what I said earlier”? and when she said no, repeating his comment. Another time he pulled her hair holding on to it, while he walked away. Mother and Daughter witnessed the Kitchen Manager asking female hosts and servers about their “sex lives,” grabbing their hair and rubbing their backs, touching their behinds, and asking things like “did you get laid tonight?” and “did [your boyfriend] give it to you last night?”

These facts are taken from the EEOC Charge against COSTCO. The victim and harasser’s names have been changed.

When he complained to his Front-End Manager on September 20, 2023, the Manager replied that she “can’t force employees to respect” him. An Operations Manager later acknowledged the harassment, but rather than helping to end it, suggested that Jay transfer to another warehouse for a “fresh start.”

On October 11, 2024 Jay escalated his concerns to the Store Manager who responded by saying there’s “something to earning an employee’s respect.” Even after bringing the issues to Costco Vice President Paul Pulver in mid-October 2024 the harassment continued. 

It was a recurring “joke” for The Harasser and his friends to ask The Employee how his girlfriend was doing, and who he would “chagachaga,” while thrusting their hips, to indicate they were referring to sex. The Harasser would rub his genitals, approach The Employee tell him to look down, gesture to his penis, chuckle and walk away. Since the harassment took place in front of a supervisor, The Employee believed that SCA was aware of it. Nonetheless it continued. In his sworn statement, The Witness describes seeing the Acting-Supervisor laughing along with offensive comments:

I witnessed our Team Lead . . . laugh along at these comments. . . .

According to the EEOC Charge, when he reported it to the Plant Manager (“the PM”), he said “yeah I saw that and I knew it was going to make you feel some type of way.” The PM could have wiped it off before the victim arrived so he would not have had to endure it, but chose not to do that.  According to a sworn statement by an eye witness, the PM told the victim to “wipe it off” himself. The witness testified that after this incident, Pipeline failed to take any action to prevent threats against its African American employees. The Charge alleges the PM just told the victim, “don’t worry about it.”

Pipeline should have held an all-hands meeting informing employees that racial harassment would not be tolerated. The Charge states that Pipeline never did, and that Pipeline should have taken other steps to find the culprit and prevent further racially threatening harassment.

The Charge against Gates alleges that a Lead employee sent complainant vulgar sexual texts which bragged that “I touch your butt.” See texts to the left.

The Charge includes a sworn statement from the victim’s coworker which stated that “she showed me vulgar sexual messages on her phone that he had sent . . . including one in which he said he could touch her butt,” and that the coworker told their Manager what the Lead employee was doing to the complainant.