"There is really not a workplace protection for that," said Stephen M. Katz, a lawyer in Atlanta who has represented employees complaining of same-sex harassment.

The Federal appeals court in New Orleans dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Title VII does not apply to same-sex harassment.

Before 1998, it was not at all clear whether same-sex harassment was even actionable.

Between 1992 and 1997, four different federal appeals courts, asked to determine whether same-sex harassment was actionable, came up with four different answers.

If these conditions were met, the court ruled, same-sex harassment was indeed actionable.

The law on same-sex harassment certainly has become more complicated since I served as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission between 1994 and 1998.

The guidelines also forbid same-sex harassment such as a group of girls spreading sexually explicit graffiti about another girl.

Lower Federal courts had dismissed the charges, ruling that Title VII did not apply to same-sex harassment.

We have also heard instances of men being harassed by women and same-sex harassment.