786
Opinion of the Court
Long, 59 F. 3d 1391 (CADC), cert. denied, 516 U. S. 1011 (1995); and Karibian v. Columbia University, 14 F. 3d 773 (CA2), cert. denied, 512 U. S. 1213 (1994). We granted certiorari to address the divergence, 522 U. S. 978 (1997), and now reverse the judgment of the Eleventh Circuit and remand for entry of judgment in Faragher's favor.
II
A
Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, "[i]t shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." 42 U. S. C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). We have repeatedly made clear that although the statute mentions specific employment decisions with immediate consequences, the scope of the prohibition " 'is not limited to "economic" or "tangible" discrimination,' " Harris v. Forklift Systems, Inc., 510 U. S. 17, 21 (1993) (quoting Meritor Savings Bank, FSB v. Vinson, supra, at 64), and that it covers more than " 'terms' and 'conditions' in the narrow contractual sense." Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc., 523 U. S. 75, 78 (1998). Thus, in Meritor we held that sexual harassment so "severe or pervasive" as to " 'alter the conditions of [the victim's] employment and create an abusive working environment' " violates Title VII. 477 U. S., at 67 (quoting Henson v. Dundee, 682 F. 2d 897, 904 (CA11 1982)).
In thus holding that environmental claims are covered by the statute, we drew upon earlier cases recognizing liability for discriminatory harassment based on race and national origin, see, e. g., Rogers v. EEOC, 454 F. 2d 234 (CA5 1971), cert. denied, 406 U. S. 957 (1972); Firefighters Institute for Racial Equality v. St. Louis, 549 F. 2d 506 (CA8), cert. denied sub nom. Banta v. United States, 434 U. S. 819 (1977),
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