diff --git a/tests/functional/r/regression_02/regression_3979.py b/tests/functional/r/regression_02/regression_3979.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b48661bc3f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/functional/r/regression_02/regression_3979.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+"""
+Regression test for https://github.com/PyCQA/pylint/issues/3979
+"""
+
+import os
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Union
+
+if TYPE_CHECKING:
+    BasePathLike = os.PathLike[Any]  # <-- that is where pylint identifies E1136
+else:
+    BasePathLike = os.PathLike
+
+foo : Union[str, BasePathLike] = "bar"