Vicarious liability to employer for actionable hostile work environment

Under antidiscrimination provisions of Title VII, employer is subject to vicarious liability to victimized employee for an actionable hostile environment created by a supervisor with immediate or successively higher authority over employee; when no tangible employment action is taken, employer may raise an affirmative defense to liability or damages, subject to proof by preponderance of evidence and comprising two necessary elements: (a) that employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior, and (b) that employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by employer or to avoid harm otherwise. Civil Rights Act of 1964, § 703(a)(1), 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e-2(a)(1)