The US Supreme Court decided unanimously on June 5 that a member of a majority group need not demonstrate background circumstances to support a case in which it is claimed that an employer discriminated against a member of the majority group. In Ames v Ohio Department of Youth Services, the Court reversed a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals requirement that a heterosexual woman establish background circumstances as part of her prima facie case for discrimination to support the suspicion that the defendant “… is that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”
The Court held that neither the text nor jurisprudence under Title VII supports such a requirement. Justice Jackson authored the opinion for a unanimous court.
Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Gorsuch, wrote a concurrence which called into question both judge made atextual rules and frameworks as well as the McDonnell Douglas framework itself, long used for analyzing Title VII cases.
As always, the Employment and Labor Law Team of Sandberg Phoenix stands ready to assist employers with all legal challenges in labor and employment law.
