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US Supreme Court in landmark decision eases path for Ohio woman, others, to make claim of ‘reverse discrimination’ in employment

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-16ac1944643020f8e10e7e1ae44091a3 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>US Supreme Court justices unanimously side with an Ohio woman who claims she was denied promotion&comma; then demoted because she is straight <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-63e22060f28fe6f79dbfb1eb25584f69 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Landmark decision Thursday made it easier to bring lawsuits over so-called &&num;8216&semi;Reverse Discrimination&&num;8217&semi; in the work place&comma; a decision that will impact cases <strong>in 20 states and the District of Columbia <&sol;strong> <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-8f22c79bfbd449a87457bb8f88cb17d4 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Court ruled on an appeal from Marlean Ames&comma; who has worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for more than 20 years <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1c49bfbcb8c945898fbc14f9f4aae8ac wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>In 2019&comma; the agency interviewed her for a new management position but ultimately hired another candidate&comma; a lesbian woman<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-239806c68e4ed738cec9792a34f3bd40 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>The agency subsequently demoted Ames from her role as a program administrator and later hired a gay man to fill that role<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-b514479ebad44f37acead9a3e2e241dc wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Ames then filed this lawsuit against the agency under Title VII&comma; alleging that she was denied the management promotion and demoted because of her sexual orientation <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-ed6515436a9207a278c68ead073b0b64 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>A trial court and the 6th U&period;S&period; Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ames&comma; but on Thursday the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower courts<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-cca27de11d06d6c14bf85c05b3caeaa7 wp-block-paragraph" style&equals;"color&colon;&num;291a1a&semi;font-size&colon;14px"><strong>Courts in the past&comma; typically set a higher bar when majority groupings&comma; including Caucasian and heterosexual complainants file discrimination suits under federal law <&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;06&sol;US-Supreme-Court-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-479841"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong> In a a unanimous decision on Thursday&comma; nine US Supreme Court sitting at the Capitol that Hill in Washington DC&comma; agreed with an Ohio woman claiming that she was the victim of reverse discrimination in the work place<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">A unanimous Supreme Court decision Thursday&comma; makes it easier to bring lawsuits over &&num;8216&semi;Reverse Discrimination&&num;8217&semi;&comma; siding with the petitioner&comma; an Ohio woman who claims she was denied the opportunity for advancement before being demoted by her employer because she is straight&period;<br>The petitioner Marlean Ames&comma; a heterosexual woman&comma; has worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services in various roles since 2004&period; In 2019&comma; the agency interviewed Ames for a new management position but ultimately hired another candidate&comma; a lesbian woman&period; <br>The agency subsequently demoted Ames from her role as a program administrator and reverted to secretarial duties&comma; her starting position at the agency&comma; with subsequent cut in pay&period; Her employer then hired a gay man to fill that role&period; <br>Ames then filed a lawsuit against the agency under Title VII&comma; alleging that she was denied the management promotion and demoted because of her sexual orientation&period; <br>The petitioner&&num;8217&semi;s case was a bust in the lower court&period; A trial court and the 6th U&period;S&period; Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ames&period;<br>On Thursday&comma; the Supreme Court justices&comma; in a 9-0 ruling&comma; threw out a lower court&OpenCurlyQuote;s decision rejecting a civil rights lawsuit by the plaintiff&comma; Marlean Ames&comma; against her employer&comma; Ohio’s department of youth services&period; The case was sent back to lower courts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;06&sol;Marlean-Ames-1&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-479852" style&equals;"width&colon;788px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Court ruling in the the claim by Marlean Ames&comma; &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; a heterosexual woman&comma; that she did not get a promotion at a state agency because she is heterosexual&period; The US Supreme Court allows the petitioner to refile the case in the lower court<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">The landmark <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;supremecourt&period;gov&sol;opinions&sol;24pdf&sol;23-1039&lowbar;c0n2&period;pdf" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"noreferrer noopener">decision<&sol;a>&comma; will impact lawsuits in 20 states and the District of Columbia where&comma; until now&comma; courts had set a higher bar when members of a majority group&comma; including those who are white and heterosexual&comma; sue for discrimination under federal law&period;<br>Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote for the court that federal civil rights law draws no distinction between members of majority and minority groups&period;<br>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;By establishing the same protections for every &OpenCurlyQuote;individual’&comma; without regard to that individual’s membership in a minority or majority group&comma; Congress left no room for courts to impose special requirements on majority-group plaintiffs alone&comma;” Jackson wrote&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<div class&equals;"wp-block-image">&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2025&sol;06&sol;Marlean-Ames-3&period;png" alt&equals;"" class&equals;"wp-image-479865" style&equals;"width&colon;840px&semi;height&colon;auto"&sol;><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"has-small-font-size wp-block-paragraph"><strong>Marlean Ames &lbrack;photo&rsqb;&comma; claims that she didn’t get a job and then was demoted because she is straight&period; First she interviewed for a position that was then filled by a lesbian woman&period; Next she was demoted to her starting position of 20 years earlier&period; A gay man was hired as her replacement<&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p class&equals;"wp-block-paragraph">Though he joined Jackson’s opinion&comma; Justice Clarence Thomas noted in a separate opinion that some of the country’s &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;largest and most prestigious employers have overtly discriminated against those they deem members of so-called majority groups&period;” <br>Justice Thomas&comma; joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch&comma; cited a brief filed by America First Legal&comma; a conservative group founded by Trump aide Stephen Miller&comma; to assert that &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;American employers have long been &OpenCurlyQuote;obsessed’ with &OpenCurlyQuote;diversity&comma; equity&comma; and inclusion’ initiatives and affirmative action plans&period;”<br>Two years ago&comma; the court’s conservative majority outlawed consideration of race in university admissions&period; <br>The opinion of Justice Jackson focused on the petitioner&&num;8217&semi;s contention that she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted because she is heterosexual&period; Both the job she sought and the one she had held were given to LGBTQ people&period;<br>Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars sex discrimination in the workplace&period;<br>The 6th circuit is among the courts that had required an additional requirement for people like Ames&comma; showing &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;background circumstances” that might include that LGBTQ people made the decisions affecting Ames or statistical evidence of a pattern of discrimination against members of the majority group&period;<br>The appeals court noted that Ames didn’t provide any such circumstances&period;<br>But Justice Jackson wrote that &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;this additional &OpenCurlyQuote;background circumstances’ requirement is not consistent with Title VII’s text or our case law construing the statute&period;”<br>On a broader scope Thursday&&num;8217&semi;s supreme court ruling eases the path for people from majority backgrounds such as white or straight individuals to pursue claims alleging workplace &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;reverse discrimination&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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