The U.S. Supreme Court made it easier on Thursday for
people from majority backgrounds such as white or straight individuals to pursue claims alleging workplace “rever
se” discrimination, r
eviving an Ohio woman’s lawsuit claiming she was illegally denied a promotion and demoted because she is heterosexual.
The justices, in a 9-0 ruling authored by liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, threw out a lower court’s decision rejecting a civil rights lawsuit by the plaintiff, Mar
lean Ames, against her employer, Ohio’s Department of Youth Services. Ames said she had a gay supervisor
when she was passed over for a promotion in favor of a gay woman and demoted, with a pay cut, in favor of a gay man.
Reverse discrimination lawsuits are increasing in the United States amid a backlash by conservatives a
nd Republicans including President Donald Trump against initiatives in the public and private sectors to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workforce.
The Ames case centered on how plaintiffs like her must try to prove a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which
prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex – including sexual orientation.
Related: Supreme Court Signals Backing for Straight Woman’s Bias Suit
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Thursday’s ruling will affect how cases are handled by courts in certain parts of the country where plaintiffs from majority groups must provide more evidence
than minority plaintiffs to make an initial – or “prima facie” – claim of discrimination under a 1973 Supreme Court r
uling that governs the multi-step process employed to resolve such cases.
These courts include the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled against Ames. They require maj
ority-group plaintiffs to show “background circumstances” indicating that a defendant accused of workplace bias is “that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”