At Supreme Court, ‘Radical Agreement’ Against Higher Burden for Reverse-Bias Plaintiffs

There was “radical agreement” in the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, as Justice Neil Gorsuch put it, that straight and white plaintiffs alleging reverse discrimination shouldn’t have to meet a higher burden than minority plaintiffs under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The justices are reviewing a federal appeals court decision rejecting the discrimination claim from a former program administrator at the Ohio Department of Youth Services, who says she was denied a promotion and replaced because she is a straight woman. The jobs ultimately went to two gay employees.