Oncale V. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc. Linda Ray Webster University
Abstract
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services is a sexual discrimination case in which the Fifth Circuit court ruled in the case of the defendant Sundowner Offshore Services that same sex discrimination was not pursuable under Title VII. The US Supreme Court reversed that decision by stating that any discrimination based on sex is actionable so long at it places the victim in an objectively disadvantageous working condition, regardless of the gender of either the victim or the harasser.
Keywords: sex discrimination, sexual harassment, Title VII
ONCALE V. SUNDOWNER OFFSHORE SERVICES, INC. Case Questions Does the Oncale decision transform Title VII into a general civility code for the American Workplace? No. The decision contends that the statute does not reach genuine but innocuous differences in the ways men and women routinely interact with members of the same sex and of the opposite sex. The prohibition of harassment on the basis of sex requires neither asexuality nor androgyny in the workplace; it forbids only behavior so objectively offensive as to the “conditions “of the victims employment. “Conduct that is not severe or pervasive enough to create an objectively hostile or abusive work environment – an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive – is beyond Title VII’s purview.” (Twomney, 2013, p. 442-443). What standard should apply in judging whether the conduct in question amounted to sexual harassment? The standard that should be applied is whether or not the statute has been violated. In this case, the Fifth Circuit has held that same-sex sexual harassment claims are never cognizable under Title VII (Twomney, 2013, p. 442). In the case of a hostile work environment the reasonable person standard should be invoked.
Abstract
Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services is a sexual discrimination case in which the Fifth Circuit court ruled in the case of the defendant Sundowner Offshore Services that same sex discrimination was not pursuable under Title VII. The US Supreme Court reversed that decision by stating that any discrimination based on sex is actionable so long at it places the victim in an objectively disadvantageous working condition, regardless of the gender of either the victim or the harasser.
Keywords: sex discrimination, sexual harassment, Title VII
ONCALE V. SUNDOWNER OFFSHORE SERVICES, INC. Case Questions Does the Oncale decision transform Title VII into a general civility code for the American Workplace? No. The decision contends that the statute does not reach genuine but innocuous differences in the ways men and women routinely interact with members of the same sex and of the opposite sex. The prohibition of harassment on the basis of sex requires neither asexuality nor androgyny in the workplace; it forbids only behavior so objectively offensive as to the “conditions “of the victims employment. “Conduct that is not severe or pervasive enough to create an objectively hostile or abusive work environment – an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive – is beyond Title VII’s purview.” (Twomney, 2013, p. 442-443). What standard should apply in judging whether the conduct in question amounted to sexual harassment? The standard that should be applied is whether or not the statute has been violated. In this case, the Fifth Circuit has held that same-sex sexual harassment claims are never cognizable under Title VII (Twomney, 2013, p. 442). In the case of a hostile work environment the reasonable person standard should be invoked.
References: Twomey, D. P. (2013). Labor & Employment Law, Text and Cases (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning.