SCOTUS Finds ‘Radical Agreement’ In Employment Discrimination Case

The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case that could have a significant impact on America’s ongoing culture wars.

By the end of the hearing, the justices appeared to find common ground on nearly every point—what Justice Neil Gorsuch referred to as “radical agreement”—involving the case of a straight white woman who claimed her employer discriminated against her due to her sexual orientation, according to ABC News.

The plaintiff, Ames, asked the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court ruling that dismissed her discrimination lawsuit against the Ohio Department of Youth Services, where she had worked for over 15 years.

After roughly an hour of oral arguments, the justices seemed inclined to side with Ames, although that doesn’t guarantee she will ultimately win her case.

Ames asserts that her supervisor denied her a promotion and subsequently demoted her, selecting less qualified gay candidates instead. At the time, Ames’ boss was also gay.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful to discriminate against employees because of their sex or sexual orientation.

According to the Supreme Court’s precedent, individuals filing Title VII lawsuits must first establish what’s known as a prima facie case—an initial presentation of facts that, if left unchallenged, could reasonably indicate discrimination.

In Ames’ situation, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals found that, because she was a straight woman, she lacked the “background circumstances” necessary to demonstrate discrimination as a member of a majority group. As a result, the court said Ames failed to meet that initial burden.

Ames pushed back, arguing that the “background circumstances” rule unfairly penalized her simply for being straight. The attorney representing the state of Ohio largely agreed with the justices’ concerns about that rule.

“We agree, Ohio agrees, that it’s wrong to treat people differently,” Ohio Solicitor General Elliot Gaiser told Justice Amy Coney Barrett during the hearing.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the senior-most liberal justice on the Court, remarked that Ames’ allegations contained “something suspicious” that merited closer examination by the lower courts.

“We’re in radical agreement today on that, it seems to me,” Justice Neil Gorsuch said, highlighting the shared view that Title VII protections apply equally to all.

However, Gaiser maintained that even if the Supreme Court struck down the Sixth Circuit’s “background circumstances” standard for majority-group plaintiffs (such as white, straight, or male workers), Ames might still not have shown strong enough evidence of discrimination to move her case forward.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh predicted that the Court’s ruling would likely be narrow, sending the case back to a lower court to review Ames’ claims in more detail before deciding whether her case should proceed.

All the Court needs to do, Kavanaugh explained, is write “a really short opinion that says discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, whether it’s because you’re gay or because you’re straight, is prohibited, and the rules are the same whichever way that goes.”

Employment law specialists say such a decision could open the door for more people from majority groups to pursue claims of discrimination in court.

“On a broader level, the ruling will reinforce to the public that the law prohibits discrimination equally against majority and minority groups alike,” said Jonathan Segal, an employment attorney and partner at Duane Morris LLP, a Philadelphia-based law firm. “This likely will increase in all circuits the already increasing number of claims by members of so-called majority groups.”

Segal also noted that “of course, the Ames decision cannot be viewed in isolation,” stressing that this ruling will emerge at a time when DEI programs already face heightened legal scrutiny. “A finding of ‘reverse discrimination’ may subject an employer’s DEI programs to federal and state investigations.”

A decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services is expected by the end of June.