Supreme Court Unanimously in Favor of Equal Standards for Discrimination Cases

The Supreme Court has unanimously reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by Marlean Ames, who alleges that she was discriminated against and demoted because she is sexually straight. Justice Ketanji Jackson wrote the decision for the Court, though Justices Thomas and Gorsuch filed a concurring opinion.

In 2019, Ames interviewed with the Ohio Youth Department for a new management position, but the agency hired another candidate—a lesbian woman. The agency subsequently demoted Ames from her role as a program administrator and then hired a gay man to fill that role. Ames filed this lawsuit against the agency under the Civil Rights Act, alleging that she was denied the management promotion and demoted because of her sexual orientation.

The District Court dismissed Ames’ lawsuit and ruled in favor of the Ohio state agency. The 6th Circuit affirmed the dismissal. The lower courts had determined that Ames failed to show “background circumstances,” suggesting that her bosses were among the rare group of employers who were biased against majority groups. Minorities suing for discrimination were not required to show analogous “background circumstances” about their employers.

Justice Jackson stated in her opinion that the Civil Rights Act applies to individuals, not groups. The plain text of the law does not leave any room for courts to impose any tests based upon certain groups. “By establishing the same protections for every “individual”—without regard to that individual’s membership in a minority or majority group—Congress left no room for courts to impose special requirements on majority-group plaintiffs alone.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling does not mean that Ames automatically wins. Instead, the lawsuit will be returned to the District Court for trial. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office, which defended the case, denies that the state engaged in any unlawful discrimination. The state contends that Ames was demoted because she lacked relevant experience for her positions.

Employment Law Should Be Equal for All Litigants

Justice Thomas made a very important point regarding discrimination suits. Justice Thomas wrote that racial discrimination lawsuits should not be divided between majority and minority groups. “Even if courts could identify all the relevant racial groups and their boundaries, courts would still struggle to determine which racial groups make up a majority.”

Individuals change over time and the same holds true of groups of people, as well as perceptions of people. A “minority” group today may become a majority tomorrow or vice versa. Classifying groups as “minority” or “majority” would be challenging enough, but having to change those designations every few decades would be messy at the very least.

Creating a different group for “majority” groups would also be deeply ironic. The goal of civil rights is equality – that goal is not achievable if the law literally creates different standards for different groups to operate by. It also flies directly in conflict with individual rights. People do not choose what “groups” they are born into, whether it is race, sex, or sexual orientation. The law should not be discriminating against people based on traits they cannot control, whether they be minority or majority.

These ideals all sound very basic, but in an era when society lives in its own social bubbles, getting back to fundamentals might be the best path forward. At the very least, treating everyone the same would ensure a sense of fairness for all regardless of whether they are “majority” or “minority.”   

Do I Need a Lawyer to File a Claim for a Hostile Work Environment?

An employment lawyer can assist you with a hostile work environment claim, including reporting the claim to the EEOC or local state agency. Your lawyer can also help you gather evidence and represent you in court if a lawsuit is necessary.