Four decisions from the past three years have created a “LEGO tower” for plaintiffs to build upon and bring more discrimination cases, legal experts said at a July 1 SHRM25 session in San Diego.
In 2023, in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in admissions in higher education.
Also in 2023, in Groff v. DeJoy, the Supreme Court ruled that employers must prove religious accommodations inflict substantial costs — rather than just de minimis costs — before denying them or else risk being found in violation of the prohibition on religious discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII also prohibits discrimination based on race, color, gender, or national origin.
The Supreme Court again opened the door to more Title VII lawsuits in 2024 in Muldrow v. St. Louis. In that decision in the context of a job transfer, the court ruled that plaintiffs need only show some harm to allege discrimination — rather than a significant injury — in violation of Title VII.
This year, the court held in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, that there is no higher evidentiary standard for members of majority groups — such as heterosexuals — trying to show unlawful discrimination.
Plaintiffs are using all these cases like “LEGO blocks” to bring more Title VII claims, said Elizabeth Beske, a professor at American University Washington College of Law and associate dean for...
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