Supreme Court set to issue ruling on reverse discrimination soon

On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that challenges the heightened evidentiary burden imposed on majority-group employees in employment discrimination cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Court is expected to make a decision soon, and its ruling could affect “reverse discrimination” litigation, including cases involving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Heterosexual employee replaced by homosexual employee

In 2004, the Ohio Department of Youth Services hired Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, who later became the administrator of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2014. In 2017, Ginine Trim, a homosexual woman, became Ames’s supervisor.

Ames was demoted from her role as PREA administrator in 2019 and was replaced by a younger homosexual man. She also claimed that she faced additional personnel changes that favored LBTQ+ candidates. She sued the Ohio Department of Youth Services, alleging discrimination based on sexual orientation and sex under Title VII. Both the district court and the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all employers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, and Michigan) ruled against her, with the 6th Circuit requiring her to show “background circumstances” suggesting her employer unusually discriminates against majority group members, such as heterosexual women.

‘Background circumstances’ test