June 27, 1998

The Supreme Court clarified the law on sexual harassment in the workplace today, making some lawsuits against employers easier to win while limiting the legal exposure of companies that have effective anti-harassment policies in place. The pair of 7-to-2 decisions, issued on the final day of the Court's term, cut through a thicket of confusing and contradictory lower-court rulings that had grown up in the 12 years since the Justices first ruled that sexual harassment was a form of employment discrimination.

R. is a gay man who has thrived in the Marines. Yet he'll soon be leaving the military because the ''don't ask, don't tell'' policy has created a world of fear and deceit, alienating him and his friends from fellow service members, and from gay civilians. A report by Jennifer Egan, in the Magazine.

Environmental, cultural and historical forces are merging to alter practice of shipwreck salvage; new rules along United States coastline are placing wrecks off limits or making them tough to retrieve; United Nations is set to begin debating treaty to protect wrecks worldwide; shift is hurting treasure hunter Mel Fisher, who also battles state suspicion that he sold fake coins; table; map; photos (M)

William C Rhoden Sports of The Times column says interleague games between New York Yankees and New York Mets are being played down by members of both teams, but they are a continuation of good old-fashioned knockdown drag-out sandlot games with deep roots; photo (M)

Long-Term Credit Bank, one of Japan's biggest and weakest banks, discusses merger with smaller, stronger rival, Sumitomo Trust and Banking Co, move that could ease concerns that troubles at Long-Term could spread and endanger Japan's financial stability; Liberal Democratic Party secretary general, Koichi Kato, hails talks; denies party leaders helped broker deal, which would give Government chance to put into practice its blueprint for tackling $600 billion in bad debt held by banks; Prime Min Ryutaro Hashimoto orders detailed plan for establishment of bridge bank to assume loans and clients of failed institution (M)