Case Study Oncale V
Case Study: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.
Joshua Weisman
Webster University
HRMG 5700 QD F2
In the case of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., Joseph Oncale was the victim of repeated harassment, sexual, physical and mental, from at least three members of the work crew, of which two had a supervisory position over him. When Oncale brought his complaints to the supervisors, they took no noticeable actions against the harassers and, after he had experienced enough harassment, Oncale quit his position. When Oncale filed the sexual harassment complaint against Sundowner, the district court, relying on the precedent set by the Fifth Circuit courts, “. . . held that Oncale, a male, had no Title VII cause of action for harassment by male coworkers. The Fifth Circuit affirmed.” (Twomey, 442) In 1998, the case was brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, where that decision was reversed, and same-sex harassment was ruled actionable under Title VII. The Supreme Courts decision concerning sexual harassment does not transform Title VII into a general civility code for workplaces. If anything, it just further defines what sexual harassment can be, allowing workers to feel safer in the work environment. As Justice Scalia addressed this argument during his decision, “The prohibition of harassment on the basis of sex requires neither asexuality or androgyny in the workplace; it forbids only behavior so objectively offensive as to alter 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.’” (Twomey 442-443) When judging whether the conduct in question amounted to any sort of sexual harassment, there is a simple standard that should be applied: would a reasonable person, in the complainant 's position, and taking into
Joshua Weisman
Webster University
HRMG 5700 QD F2
In the case of Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., Joseph Oncale was the victim of repeated harassment, sexual, physical and mental, from at least three members of the work crew, of which two had a supervisory position over him. When Oncale brought his complaints to the supervisors, they took no noticeable actions against the harassers and, after he had experienced enough harassment, Oncale quit his position. When Oncale filed the sexual harassment complaint against Sundowner, the district court, relying on the precedent set by the Fifth Circuit courts, “. . . held that Oncale, a male, had no Title VII cause of action for harassment by male coworkers. The Fifth Circuit affirmed.” (Twomey, 442) In 1998, the case was brought before the Supreme Court of the United States, where that decision was reversed, and same-sex harassment was ruled actionable under Title VII. The Supreme Courts decision concerning sexual harassment does not transform Title VII into a general civility code for workplaces. If anything, it just further defines what sexual harassment can be, allowing workers to feel safer in the work environment. As Justice Scalia addressed this argument during his decision, “The prohibition of harassment on the basis of sex requires neither asexuality or androgyny in the workplace; it forbids only behavior so objectively offensive as to alter 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.’” (Twomey 442-443) When judging whether the conduct in question amounted to any sort of sexual harassment, there is a simple standard that should be applied: would a reasonable person, in the complainant 's position, and taking into
References: Twomey, D. P. (2013). Discrimination Laws: Protected Classes Under Title VII and the Constitution. Labor & Employment Law (Fifteenth Edition ed., pp. 428, 430, 442,443). Mason, OH: South-Western.