Harassment

1101 14th Street NW Washington, DC 20005 phone 202 628 4160 fax 202 347 5323 HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN LEGALbrief For information contact: Tony Varona, Chief Counsel, 202/216-1558 Kevin Layton, Legislative Counsel, 202/216-1532 Oncale v. Sundowner: Supreme Court Hears Arguments Concerning Application of Title VII to Same-Sex Sexual Harassment The Human Rights Campaign is closely monitoring Oncale V. Sundowner, a case in which the Supreme Court is reviewing a Fifth Circuit ruling that interpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as barring all same-sex sexual harassment complaints. The Supreme Court should clarify that the focus in Title VII sexual harassment cases must be on the conduct, and not on the sex or sexual orientation, of the harasser or victim. Every instance of sexual harassment, regardless of whether the harasser's intentions were amorous or hostile, is inherently sex-based and, thus, directly under the purview of Title VII. Certain courts have wrongly decided that a Title VII same-sex sexual harassment lawsuit may be brought only when the harasser is gay, and that the same lawsuit must be dismissed when the harasser is heterosexual. Other courts have held that Title VII is unavailable where the victim is gay because any harassment in those cases is inextricably linked with the victim's sexual orientation, which remains unprotected under Title VII. These decisions unfairly deny gay people protections under Title VII that the statute accords to all others. On December 3, 1997, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, a case that may have a significant impact on the American workplace by clarifying that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to same-sex sexual harassment suits without regard to the sex or sexual orientation of either the victim or perpetrator. Background. Joseph Oncale, a married father of two, was hired by Sundowner to work as a deckhand on a Chevron USA drilling platform. In 1991, his supervisor and two co-workers allegedly attacked Oncale in a shower, with the supervisor placing his penis on Oncale's head, and others forcing a bar of soap into his buttocks. Oncale reported this and other sexual assaults against him to Sundowner officials who reportedly refused to take any action. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld dismissal of Oncale's sexual harassment complaint, ruling that Title VII does not apply to same-sex sexual harassment. 83 F.3d 118 (5th Cir. 1995). Oncale appealed to the Supreme Court, which in turn accepted the case. Title VII and Sexual Harassment. Title VII prohibits an employer from "discriminat[ing] against any individual because of such individual's sex." In 1986, the Supreme Court ruled that the scope of Title VII includes not only discriminatory hiring and firing on the basis of sex, but also sexual harassment, either in the form of "quid pro quo" manipulation, in which sexual conduct (Over, please)