Opinion ID: 774282
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Failure to Take Advantage of Preventative or Corrective Opportunities

Text: 30 Matvia argues that her reluctance to report Terbush's conduct was not unreasonable. According to circuit precedent,evidence that the plaintiff failed to utilize the company's complaint procedure will normally suffice to satisfy [the company's] burden under the second element of the defense. Barrett v. Applied Radiant Energy Corp., 240 F.3d 262, 267 (4th Cir. 2001) (internal quotation marks omitted) (alteration in original). If Title VII's prohibitions against sexual harassment are to be effective, employees must report improper behavior to company officials. See Faragher, 524 U.S. at 806 (observing that a victim [of sexual harassment] has a duty to use such means as are reasonable under the circumstances to avoid or minimize the damages that result from violations of the statute) (internal quotation marks omitted); Parkins v. Civil Constructors, Inc., 163 F.3d 1027, 1038 (7th Cir. 1998) (observing that the law against sexual harassment is not self-enforcing and an employer cannot be expected to correct harassment unless the employee makes a concerted effort to inform the employer that a problem exists) (internal quotation marks omitted). Otherwise, the harasser's conduct would continue, perhaps leading other employees to infer that such behavior is acceptable in the workplace. See Barrett, 240 F.3d at 267. 31 Matvia contends that she needed time to collect evidence against Terbush so company officials would believe her. But Faragher and Ellerth command that a victim of sexual harassment report the misconduct, not investigate, gather evidence, and then approach company officials. See Faragher, 524 U.S. at 807; Ellerth, 524 U.S. 765. Sexual harassment cases often involve the word of the harasser versus the word of the harassed employee, but this is no different from any other case where the outcome depends on the credibility of the parties' testimony. Though we understand why Matvia would want tangible evidence to buttress her version of events, this cannot excuse her failure to report Terbush's unwelcome conduct. 32 Matvia also argues that it was proper to refrain from reporting Terbush so she could determine whether he was a predator or merely an interested man who could be politely rebuffed. According to Matvia, she discovered that Terbush was a predator just days before the attempted kiss in the golf cart and consequently she should not be penalized for failing to take preventative or corrective action. We disagree. As an initial matter, our case law makes no distinction between predators and interested men. So long as the conduct is unwelcome, based on the employee's gender, and sufficiently pervasive or severe to alter the conditions of employment, the label given to the harasser is immaterial. Moreover, even if we were to use Matvia's proffered nomenclature, the gravity and numerosity of the incidents make clear that Terbush was not merely an interested man who could be politely rebuffed. Matvia informed Terbush that her husband would not appreciate his conduct and she often turned her back to him and left the room when Terbush's actions or comments made her feel uncomfortable. Nonetheless, Terbush persisted in harassing her. In light of this long-term and persistent harassment, Matvia cannot be excused from failing to report Terbush to BHIM officials. 33 Next, Matvia points to the actions of the bus drivers and argues that she reasonably feared retaliation from co-employees. Without question, the reporting of sexual harassment can placethe harassed employee in an awkward and uncomfortable situation. Barrett, 240 F.3d at 268. Not only is it embarrassing to discuss such matters with company officials, but after the harassed employee overcomes this hurdle she may have to deal with a negative reaction from coworkers. While such events might cause an employee stress, the unpleasantness cannot override the duty to report sexual harassment. See Parkins, 163 F.3d at 1038. The reporting requirement is so essential to the law of sexual harassment that we have refused to recognize a nebulous fear of retaliation as a basis for remaining silent. Barrett, 240 F.3d at 267 (internal quotation marks omitted). The bringing of a retaliation claim, see 42 U.S.C.A. S 2000e-3(a) (West 1994), rather than failing to report sexual harassment, is the proper method for dealing with retaliatory acts. Consequently, Matvia's fear that her co-workers would react negatively is insufficient to deprive BHIM of the affirmative defense. 34 Finally, Matvia argues that the attempted kiss alone should be considered in assessing the hostility of her work environment, and because she contacted BHIM soon after the incident, BHIM cannot as a matter of law establish that Matvia unreasonably failed to invoke the company's anti-harassment policy. From the filing of her complaint, Matvia has characterized the inappropriate behavior as beginning [a]fter Terbush became Plaintiff's supervisor. J.A. 14. In an effort to avoid the affirmative defense set forth in Faragher and Ellerth, Matvia now asks this court to ignore the numerous incidents of sexual harassment enumerated in her complaint and discussed in her deposition testimony, and to instead focus only on the final indignity she suffered. This we cannot do. The evidence reveals a pattern of behavior beginning in September 1997 and ending December 15. The only way we can assess whether Matvia failed to take advantage of any preventative or corrective opportunities provided by the employer, Faragher, 524 U.S. at 807; Ellerth, 524 U.S. at 765, is to examine Matvia's actions from the time the unwelcome conduct began. Matvia's pick-and-choose method would make a mockery of this inquiry and would violate the basic tenets of fairness. 35 In short, though Terbush's advances began in September 1997 and ended on December 15, BHIM did not learn of the harassment until December 16. BHIM had an effective anti-harassment policy in place that Matvia failed to utilize. Hence, BHIM has established the second prong of the affirmative defense.