In the case of Joseph Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., et al., 1997, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that workplace harassment can occur among people of the same sex and is actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The plaintiff, Joseph Oncale, was an employee on an oil platform in Louisiana where he claimed to have been subjected to sexual harassment by his male co-workers with threats of rape and physical assault. His complaints were ignored by supervisors and eventually led him to resign from his job. Lower courts initially dismissed his claim stating that Title VII did not cover same-sex harassment cases but this decision was reversed by the Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia who stated that nothing in Title VII necessarily bars a claim for discrimination "because of...sex" merely because both parties are men.

In the case of Joseph Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., there were no dissenting opinions recorded from any Supreme Court Justices. The court unanimously ruled in favor of Oncale, establishing that workplace harassment can occur between individuals of the same sex and still violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This ruling was a significant step forward for sexual harassment law interpretation and application in United States workplaces.