On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments that could change how employment discrimination claims work for people in majority groups. In Ames v. Department of Ohio Youth Services, an Ohio woman whose “reverse discrimination” claim was dismissed by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on her case and clear up a circuit split. Here’s what’s happening and why it matters.
What is this case about?
Marlean Ames claims that she was not hired for a job and then was demoted because she is straight. Her lawsuit was dismissed by the 6th Circuit which found that Ames could not meet an additional test –– the background circumstances rule –– sometimes used when the employee claiming discrimination is part of a majority group.
Ames believes the lower court’s ruling should be overturned because the background circumstances rule puts plaintiffs in majority groups at a disadvantage. Her employer, the Ohio Department of Youth Services (the Department), believes overturning the case would be unworkable.
Federal circuit courts disagree on the application of the background circumstances rule that the lower court applied to Ames’s case. Ames is asking the Supreme Court to address this circuit split and decide whether majority-group plaintiffs must show “background circumstances to support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”
What is the basis of Ames’s “reverse discrimination” claim?...
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