The U.S. Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Wednesday in an Ohio woman’s claim that she was denied a promotion and demoted because she is straight in a case that could make it easier for people from “majority backgrounds,” such as white or heterosexual people, to pursue workplace discrimination claims.
The plaintiff, Marlean Ames, is asking the justices to revive her civil rights lawsuit against her employer, Ohio’s Department of Youth Services, after lower courts threw it out. The arguments were ongoing.
Ames, 60, has argued that she was discriminated against because she is heterosexual in violation of a landmark federal anti-discrimination law. Ames said she had a gay supervisor in 2019 when she was passed over for a promotion in favor of a gay woman and demoted in favor of a gay man – both of whom, she asserted, were less qualified than her.
At issue is the requirement by some U.S. courts that plaintiffs from majority groups provide more evidence than minority plaintiffs to show they faced discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This law prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, national origin and sex – including sexual orientation.
These courts have said the higher bar is justified because discrimination against those workers is relatively uncommon.
The Cincinnati, Ohio-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in 2023 that Ames had not shown the required “background circumstances” indicating that a defendant accused of workplace bias is “that unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”