 MARGARET WARNER: In 1993, Kimberly Ellerth applied for a marketing job at Burlington Industries in Chicago. Burlington is a textile maker with headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Ellerth was interviewed by Theodore Slowik, vice president of sales and marketing, for a job as a merchandising assistant. Ellerth charges that during the interview, Slowik asked about her sex life and stared conspicuously at her breasts and legs.
A week later, Ellerth was offered the job; she accepted. Slowik was based in New York but worked with Ellerth when he came to Chicago and when both traveled to company headquarters in Greensboro. At those times she says Slowik made repeated sexual remarks and suggestions to hear and also touched her inappropriately.
KIMBERLY ELLERTH: It made me feel like, like, like a piece of meat. I was, I was completely humiliated, embarrassed. I couldn't believe that, that, that that was happening to me.
MARGARET WARNER: Ellerth also alleges that Slowik suggested her success at the company depended on being sexually compliant. She said Slowik told her: "I could make your life very hard or very easy at Burlington." Ellerth rejected all his overtures and suggestions, she says.
 She was promoted, nonetheless, in March 1994. Still, she cited Slowik's alleged harassment as her reason for her resigning two months later. In October of that year, Ellerth filed a sexual harassment complaint against Burlington with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
In the complaint, she said she felt compelled to resign because of what she called the "hostile offensive environment and abusive work environment created by Slowik's sexual harassment." Burlington's employee handbook at the time said the company would not tolerate sexual harassment and urged employees to report any problems promptly.
Ellerth says she knew of the policy but never complained out of fear her job would be in danger if she did. Burlington says it had no knowledge of any misconduct by Slowik and notes that Ellerth's career at Burlington never suffered because of the alleged harassment.
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