Takeaway: To take advantage of the Faragher/Ellerth affirmative defense against sexual harassment, an employer must prove both that it acted reasonably to prevent and correct sexual harassment and that the employee unreasonably failed to act by not using the provided complaint opportunities.

An employee did not experience an adverse employment action following her complaint of sexual harassment, the federal district court of Colorado held, where the employee took a voluntary leave of absence during the employer's investigation. The employee also did not request any accommodation or modification to her work environment and did not return to work despite the employer's repeated assurances that she would be reinstated.

The employee had alleged sexual harassment due to a hostile work environment, sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act.

The employer, a full-service home remodeling company operating in the Western United States, had a harassment-free workplace policy that provided several ways to report alleged sexual harassment, including by contacting the company's HR department, president or legal counsel, or by using an anonymous, confidential hotline.

The female employee worked as a sales representative and claimed that, almost immediately after beginning work for the employer, her male manager subjected her to offensive, inappropriate and unwelcome sexual conduct. This included...

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