The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a “reverse discrimination” employment case under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 asking whether a straight woman should have had to meet a higher burden to show she was passed over for a government job due to her sexual orientation.
Marlean Armes, a former program administrator for the Ohio Department of Youth Services, alleged that her boss, a gay woman, promoted another gay woman over her for the Department’s Bureau Chief of Quality. After she was not given the lucrative promotion, Marlean was then demoted a month later and eventually replaced by a gay male. Despite her allegations, the trial court threw out her claims before she could reach trial. The trial court reasoned that Marlen lacked evidence of “background circumstances” necessary to establishing her prima-facie case for her claim based on sexual orientation, and that she lacked evidence of pretext for purposes of her sex-discrimination claim. The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed with the trial court’s decision and reasoning. A writ of certiorari was recently issued by the U.S. Supreme Court and is expected to issue a decision on her case by July 2025.
Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer to hire, discharge, limit, segregate, or classify employees or applicants for employment because of an individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. But since the 1980s, at least four U.S. Court of Appeals have adopted additional requirements to proving discrimination claims against members of majority groups, largely in cases involving white men. Those courts have said the higher bar is justified because discrimination against those classes of people is relatively uncommon. But other courts have said that Title VII does not distinguish between bias against minority and majority groups.
Lou Pechman’s article, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Programs May Invite Reverse Discrimination Lawsuits,” was published in Smerconish. If you believe you have been a victim of reverse discrimination in the workplace, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys of Pechman Law Group at 212-583-9500.
