News & Analysis as of

Evidentiary Standards Reverse Discrimination Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Warner Norcross + Judd

Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Evidentiary Standard for Majority-Group Plaintiffs in Title VII Discrimination Claims

Warner Norcross + Judd on

On June 5, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services that courts cannot apply a heightened evidentiary standard to majority-group plaintiffs when deciding discrimination claims. The...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Supreme Court Rejects “Background Circumstances” Requirement for Title VII Discrimination Claims in Ames v. Ohio Department of...

Bricker Graydon LLP on

In a unanimous decision issued on June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court held the “background circumstances” requirement imposed by some lower courts in what are often referred to as “reverse discrimination” claims is...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Supreme Court Clarifies Law on So-called “Reverse Discrimination” Claims

Bowditch & Dewey on

On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court settled a longtime debate among federal appellate courts regarding so-called “reverse discrimination” claims that are brought by employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Evidentiary Burden For “Reverse Discrimination” Title VII Plaintiffs

On June 5, 2025, in a unanimous ruling authored by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court revived the employment discrimination claims of an Ohio woman who contends that she was the victim of “reverse...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

"Supreme Court Shakes Things Up: Reversal of the 'Background Circumstances' Rule Marks Major Legal Shift"

Before June 5, 2025, the law (at least in some jurisdictions) was that majority-group employees (e.g., white or heterosexual) had to show additional “background circumstances” in addition to a prima facie case to prove...more

Kilpatrick

One Standard for All: SCOTUS Rejects Heightened Evidentiary Standard for Reverse Discrimination Claims

Kilpatrick on

On June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, decisively rejecting the so-called “background circumstances” rule that required majority-group...more

Hinckley Allen

An End to the Heightened Reverse Discrimination Standard

Hinckley Allen on

On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision holding that “reverse discrimination” claims are not subject to a heightened standard of proof. This decision clarifies the legal standard required for such...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Supreme Court Confirms Title VII’s Standard Is the Same for Majority and Minority-Group Plaintiffs

On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously held in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services that the standard for establishing a Title VII claim is the same for all individuals, regardless of whether...more

Cozen O'Connor

Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services

Cozen O'Connor on

In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that Title VII’s protections against discrimination do not require majority group individuals (including white people, men, and heterosexuals) to...more

Holland & Knight LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Holds No Higher Standard for "Majority Group" Discrimination Claims

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on June 5, 2025, resolving a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit split in the matter of Ames v. Ohio Dep't. of Youth Servs., 605 U.S. ____ (2025). The Supreme Court...more

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

SCOTUS Unanimously Rejects Heightened Burden for Majority-Group Discrimination Claims

On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of petitioner, Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, who commenced a reverse discrimination case against her former employer, the Ohio Department of Youth...more

Stark & Stark

United States Supreme Court Holds Same Standard Must be Applied to Reverse Discrimination Cases as Other Forms of Discrimination

Stark & Stark on

On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously held that a Plaintiff alleging reverse discrimination under Title VII be held to the same standard as if they belonged to another suspect class. Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth...more

Seward & Kissel LLP

U.S. Supreme Court rejects heightened “background circumstances” burden for Title VII plaintiffs in majority groups

Seward & Kissel LLP on

On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, holding that courts may not impose a heightened evidentiary standard on majority-group plaintiffs alleging...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Justices Reject Higher Standard for “Reverse Discrimination” Claims

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

The United States Supreme Court has held that the evidentiary standards for “reverse discrimination” claims under federal employment law must be the same as those set for claims brought by members of minority groups....more

WilmerHale

Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services: SCOTUS Simplifies Reverse Discrimination Claims

WilmerHale on

As widely expected, the Supreme Court’s June 5, 2025 decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services confirmed that a plaintiff alleging employment discrimination under Title VII cannot be held to a different,...more

Fisher Phillips

SCOTUS Scraps Extra Hurdle in Majority-Group Bias Claims: 5 Ways That Things Will Change for Employers

Fisher Phillips on

The US Supreme Court just unanimously ruled that plaintiffs alleging workplace discrimination under Title VII are not required to meet a heightened evidentiary standard just because they have “majority-group” status....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Standard for Discrimination Claims From Majority Groups

On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that employees who are part of a majority group do not have a higher evidentiary standard to prove workplace discrimination. ...more

17 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide