Court Asked To Define Sex Harassment in the Workplace

By Mark Walsh

WASHINGTON--In a case with as much potential impact for schools as for other employers, the U.S. Supreme Court last week tackled the issue of what constitutes illegal sexual harassment in the workplace.

The High Court heard arguments Oct. 13 in a sex-discrimination case from Tennessee that may result in a better definition of what kind of conduct creates a "hostile'' working environment that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Like the rest of American society, schools and school administrators have paid much more attention to the issue in recent years. Adding to concerns about liability for harassment of their employees, schools have also learned that they can be held liable for sexual harassment of students by...