The Supreme Court Just Released an Important Employment-Related Decision Which Eases the Burden of Proof for Reverse Discrimination Claims

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services, 605 U.S. ___ (2025), leveled the playing field for employees who believe they suffered discrimination because they are part of the “majority group.”   Employees in the “majority group” are those outside the protected classifications under Title VII who fall within the generalized groups of White, male/female, and heterosexual.

Historically, the Courts held that reverse discrimination claims had to meet a higher legal burden before they could proceed on the merits.  Specifically, a plaintiff who is a member of a majority group must also show “background circumstances to support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”  Under this standard, to proceed with any claims, the employee needs to establish that their employer is part of the “rare employer who discriminates against members of majority groups.”  To meet this burden, the employee must provide evidence that a member of the minority group made the discriminatory employment decision at issue or statistical evidence establishing that members of the majority group are subjected to worse treatment than minority group employees. 

Historically, most reverse discrimination claims were unable to meet the heightened burden of “background circumstances” and would wither in the Courts.  As of today, those cases will be moving forward because the Supreme Court held that the “background circumstances” requirement is an improper burden to place on reverse discrimination claims.  In its decision, the Supreme Court opined that Title VII did not leave any room for courts to impose special requirements on majority-group plaintiffs alone. 

Here at Harvey Kruse, our team of employment attorneys is ready to assist your organization in responding to these changing legal standards. Feel free to contact Rita Lauer at rlauer@harveykruse.com or at (810) 230-1000 to address this or any other labor/employment concerns.