This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment and labor law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal in the last month.
Supreme Court Reverses Lower Court Rulings Requiring Higher Standard of Proof in Reverse Discrimination Cases
In Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Servs., 605 U. S. ___ (June 5, 2025), the Supreme Court considered whether a plaintiff who is a member of a majority group must meet a heightened evidentiary standard, showing “background circumstances” to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under Title VII. The case involved a heterosexual woman who was denied a promotion in favor of a gay woman and demoted from her position as a program administrator and replaced by a gay man. She filed suit alleging that she was denied the promotion and demoted because of her sexual orientation. The federal district court and the Sixth Circuit granted summary judgment for the employer holding that the plaintiff had not shown “background circumstances to support the suspicion that the defendant is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”
Resolving a circuit court split, the Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit and unanimously held that “this additional ‘background circumstances’ requirement is not consistent with Title VII’s text or our case law construing the statute.” Reviewing the statute and prior Supreme Court precedent, the Court emphasized that Title VII’s disparate-treatment...
As a doctor and practice owner, I urge caution in expanding Pennsylvania’s False Claims Act. One reason I left the traditional insurance model was the constant threat of chargebacks and retroactive...