In 1986, the
U.S. Supreme Court first in Vinson v. Meriton Savings Bank
declared that sexual harassment can be illegal sexual discrimination
under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The court held that sexual
harassment is illegal when the workplace is permeated with
"discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult" that changes the
conditions of the victims' employment and creates an abusive working
environment. Beyond that, however, the court gave little guidance to
lower courts to sort through the myriad of issues involved in sexual
harassment.
Before the
present term, the U.S. Supreme Court had issued just two major decisions
on workplace sexual harassment. As a result, there has been a tremendous
amount of litigation on sexual harassment issued with differing
approaches and views on these issues in a number of lower courts.
It is
expected that, with the Supreme Court hearing four significant
sexual harassment cases this term, the justices will be able to
provide sufficient guidance so that employees and employers will know
what their rights and duties are and resolve the splits amount the lower
courts.
The first of
these cases was decided on March 4, 1998 when the Supreme Court ruled
that same-sex harassment can violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 (Oncale v. Sundowner)
In the
second case, argued on March 25, 1998, the Supreme Court will determine
to what extent employers are liable for harassment to which top
management has not been explicitly alerted (Faragher
v. Boca Raton)
In the third
case, also argued March 25, 1998, the Supreme Court will be deciding a
related issue posed in the Faragher case; Should a school district be
held liable for a teacher's sexual harassment of a student, if the
district had no actual knowledge of the teacher's conduct.
The fourth
case, argued in April, 1998, will be asking the Supreme Court to
determine if mere threats, without adverse economic consequences or
actual retribution, can support an action for quid pro quo sexual
harassment. (Ellerth v. Burlington
Industries)
