Supreme Court eliminates ‘background circumstances’ test for Title VII claims

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has formalized and affirmed the legal standard for employment discrimination claims for nonminority groups under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

What changed?

Typically in Title VII cases, employees must show they are members of a protected class, they were qualified for the job in question, they experienced an adverse employment action, and similarly situated individuals outside their protected class were treated more favorably.

Previously, some courts—including the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Michigan employers)—required majority-group employees (such as white, male, heterosexual, or nonminority employees) to meet an additional burden when filing discrimination claims. This additional burden, which was deemed the “background circumstances” test, required employees to present extra evidence suggesting that the employer could be biased against majority-group members and took the place of showing membership in a protected class.