Supreme Court to weigh in on heterosexual employee’s reverse discrimination claim

At the end of February 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in an employment discrimination lawsuit that focused on a reverse discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Although the Supreme Court’s decision isn’t expected for a few months, the questions posed during oral arguments provide potential insight into how the justices may rule.

Reverse sexual orientation discrimination claim

Marlean Ames, a heterosexual female, began working for the Ohio Department of Youth Services (DYS) in approximately 2004 and became a program administrator in 2014. In 2019, she applied for a new position that she didn’t receive.

Soon after, DYS demoted her, resulting in a substantial reduction in her compensation. The agency subsequently promoted a homosexual man to Ames’s previous administrator position, and later that year, DYS hired a homosexual woman for the position Ames applied for but didn’t receive.

Ames filed a lawsuit in federal court in Ohio alleging her employer had discriminated against her based on her sexual orientation. The trial court found in favor of DYS and dismissed her case.