In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has made it significantly easier for employees from majority groups—such as white or heterosexual workers—to bring forward claims of "reverse" discrimination in the workplace. The ruling, delivered on June, 2025, overturns a decades-old legal standard that required these plaintiffs to provide extra evidence that their employer was unusually likely to discriminate against majority groups.
The case involved Marlean Ames, a straight woman who alleged she was denied a promotion and later demoted in favor of LGBTQ+ colleagues at the Ohio Department of Youth Services. Lower courts had dismissed her lawsuit, citing a rule that required majority-group plaintiffs to show "background circumstances" suggesting bias against them—a higher bar than for minority plaintiffs.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, writing for the Court, stated that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does not impose a heightened pleading standard on majority-group plaintiffs. All individuals, regardless of group status, are now subject to the same legal framework when alleging workplace discrimination.
This landmark decision resolves a split among federal appeals courts and could open the door to more reverse discrimination lawsuits nationwide, especially amid ongoing debates over diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the workplace Employers are now advised to apply equal standards for all discrimination claims, regardless of the plaintiff’s background.
