The new Supreme Court term has just begun, and already the justices have agreed to hear a case with implications for employers across the United States. Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services involves a heterosexual employee who alleges that she was passed over for promotions and eventually demoted in favor of less qualified gay co-workers. The Sixth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the lawsuit on the grounds that the plaintiff had not offered sufficient evidence of discrimination.
The plaintiff alleges that the Sixth Circuit created a legal test for proving reverse discrimination claims that unfairly burden persons in the majority. She claims that the appellate court required her to offer evidence beyond her personal experiences to demonstrate a pattern of reverse discrimination, while allowing minorities suing for discrimination to base their claims solely on such experiences.
The Supreme Court’s acceptance of this case may signify dissatisfaction with the Sixth Circuit’s legal test, or a desire to set a uniform nationwide standard for reverse discrimination claims. The employer argued that the plaintiff failed to properly raise this argument during earlier stages of the litigation and should be barred from doing so now. The court will schedule arguments in this case with a decision likely next year.
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