The Supreme Court appears to be in favor of lowering the standard for what is required to prove job discrimination when it comes to people who are white, straight, or male.
According to The Washington Post, a discrimination lawsuit had been filed in 2020 by Marlean Ames. She had previously been employed at the Ohio government agency managing juvenile corrections. Ames says her position was given to a young gay man in 2019. Then someone else she considered less qualified later received a promotion that she thought she deserved. Ames is a heterosexual white woman and stated that this person was a lesbian.
The lower court did not see enough evidence to prove job discrimination had taken place, therefore it ruled against her. For those from majority backgrounds, more evidence is required to show proof that discrimination in the workplace occurred.
However, a ruling in Ames’ favor could lead to more “reverse discrimination” lawsuits, Reuters notes. A strong defense would be that majority backgrounds (white individuals, as well as those who are also straight or men) require more evidence to prove discrimination in comparison to their counterparts under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The federal law does not permit employment discriminations based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“Title VII aims to eradicate all discrimination in the workplace. But the background circumstances rule doesn’t do that, doesn’t eradicate discrimination,” Ames’ lawyer Xiao Wang said, according to Reuters. “It instructs courts to practice it by sorting individuals into majority and minority groups based on their race, their sex or their protected characteristic” and applying an evidentiary presumption against plaintiffs “based solely on their being in a majority group, however you define it.”
Wang added, “But that’s not consistent with the statute that tells us that we’re supposed to protect all individuals from individual discrimination based on the individual case.”
Ames is currently seeking to be awarded monetary damages.
The Washington Post notes the Supreme Court, which is majority Republican, appears to be in favor of Ames. A decision will be made by summer 2025.