The Supreme Court’s June 5, 2025 decision to revive a heterosexual woman’s discrimination suit on the basis of sexual orientation against her employer could open a floodgate of future litigation. In a unanimous ruling authored by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Court held that the Sixth Circuit’s decision to impose a higher standard on a plaintiff who was not a member of a traditionally protected minority group—the so-called “background circumstances” test—was improper under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
While the legal significance of this decision has not yet fully crystalized, it is another data point that suggests “reverse” discrimination claims may begin to increase nationwide. Because this standard was utilized in nearly half of the U.S. Courts of Appeals, it stands to reason that a “lowered” barrier to entry—when combined with other sociopolitical realities, including a newly-empowered U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) that has expressed an interest in pursuing such claims—may result in a notable uptick in litigation.
Employers should be mindful of this development and continue to account for these realities in their decision-making processes surrounding recruitment and advancement efforts.
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