7 months ago
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Individuals belonging to “majority groups” in some parts of the country may find it easier to bring cases of discrimination after the Supreme Court sided with a heterosexual woman in a case about employer discrimination.
In a unanimous ruling on Thursday, the justices lowered the bar for people in majority groups (typically considered white, heterosexual, cisgender, and male) to bring claims of discrimination by striking down a “background circumstances” rule implemented by some lower courts.
Under that rule, Marlean Ames, a straight woman from Ohio, was denied the ability to sue her employer for what she alleges was discrimination against her sexual orientation.
Ames, who worked at the Ohio Department of Youth Services, said her boss, a gay woman, passed her over for a promotion and instead gave it to another gay woman who was less qualified. She was then demoted and a gay man who was also less qualified was given her position.
The justices agreed, saying the test is “not consistent with Title VII’s text or our case law construing the statute.”
Courts have previously relied on “background circumstances” when reviewing discrimination cases as they apply to majority groups. These standards require a person in the majority group to show that their employer is the “unusual one” that discriminates against members of majority groups.
This is a breaking news story, more follows…
