Reverse Discrimination Claims Subject To The Same Evidentiary Burden As Other Discrimination Claims
On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services that all plaintiffs bringing discrimination claims under Title VII are subject to the same evidentiary standard. Thus, so-called "reverse discrimination" claims brought by majority groups such as heterosexuals, men and white workers do not need to demonstrate that an employer had any special "reason or inclination" to discriminate against the majority group to establish a claim.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson emphasized that Title VII's disparate-treatment provision prohibits discrimination against any individual based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin without distinguishing between majority and minority-group plaintiffs. Accordingly, imposing a unique burden on majority-group plaintiffs is inconsistent with the law.
The case serves as an important reminder to employers to treat all complaints of discrimination under Title VII, regardless of whether they are brought by members of majority or minority groups, the same. As a practical matter, this means continuing to investigate all internal complaints regarding discrimination with the same protocol and attention to issues like unconscious bias.
The decision is consistent with new guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which rejects the background circumstances rule which imposed a higher evidentiary standard on discrimination claims by majority groups.
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