Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.

E31058

Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. is a 1998 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held same-sex workplace harassment is actionable under Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination.


Statements (48)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Title VII case
United States Supreme Court case
employment discrimination case
areaOfLaw federal anti-discrimination law
arguedDate 1997-12-01
citation 523 U.S. 75
citationStyle Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U.S. 75 (1998)
clarified that Title VII is not limited to opposite-sex harassment
country United States
court Supreme Court of the United States
decisionDate 1998-03-04
decisionType unanimous decision
defendant Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.
docketNumber 96-568
fullName Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.
holding Same-sex workplace harassment can constitute discrimination because of sex under Title VII.
Title VII’s prohibition on sex discrimination applies to same-sex harassment when it is because of sex.
joinedByInMajority Anthony M. Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
David H. Souter
John Paul Stevens
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Sandra Day O’Connor
Stephen G. Breyer
William H. Rehnquist
jurisdiction United States
languageOfDecision English
legalIssue same-sex sexual harassment under Title VII
scope of sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
lowerCourtDisposition judgment for defendant affirmed
majorityOpinionBy Antonin Scalia
originatingCourt United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
page 75
partySexOfHarassers male
partySexOfPlaintiff male
plaintiff Joseph Oncale
precedentFor same-sex sexual harassment claims under Title VII
recognizedPrinciple Title VII covers all forms of sex-based workplace harassment regardless of the sex of the harasser or victim
same-sex harassment is actionable if it is discrimination because of sex
reporter United States Reports
statuteInterpreted Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
subjectMatter civil rights law
employment law
workplace harassment
supremeCourtDisposition reversed and remanded
volume 523
workplaceContext offshore oil platform
yearDecided 1998

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. ("Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U.S. 75 (1998)")
citationStyle
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.
fullName
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
landmarkCase

Please wait…