Question

Joseph is working on an oil rig with a mostly male crew who perceived him as being gay, even though he isn’t. While on the rig, he is subjected to sex-related, humiliating actions against him by his coworkers in the presence of the rest of the crew. Among other things, he is threatened with rape. Joseph complains to a supervisor, but no action is taken to stop the activity. Joseph eventually quits, saying that he left because of sexual harassment. Does Joseph have a good case for sexual harassment? Can a man sue for sexual harassment when the harassers are also men? [Oncale v. Sundowner]

Answer 1

This case is considered to be a landmark case in the history of Supreme Court of the United States as it set a precedent.

Prior to this case there was no such suits filed in the US and it was seen challenging for a man to file a lawsuit on sexual harassment case when the harassers were also men.

Does Joseph have a good case for sexual harassment?

Since Joseph was subjected to sex-related, humiliating actions against him by his co-workers in the presence of the rest of the crew, he was also taunted and commented. Joseph was also sodomized with a bar of soap and he was threatened with rape. His complaint to the higher authorities was also not addressed and instead the responsible people instead of taking any action indulged in name-calling which suggested in homosexuality.

Yes, Joseph has a good case for sexual harassment.

Can a man sue for sexual harassment when the harassers are also men?

As per the judgement given by the honourable Supreme Court of United States in the case, the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides for protection against discrimination at workplace because of sex also applies to harassment amongst members of the same sex.

As the US Supreme Court defined the "because of sex" terminology can also be applied if the harassment is done by the members of same sex. Yes, a man can sue for sexual harassment when the harassers are also of same sex.