The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Marlean Ames, an Ohio woman who alleged reverse discrimination after being denied a promotion.
The 9-0 decision clarified that majority-group plaintiffs are not subject to a higher burden of proof under Title VII.
Ames claimed she was passed over for a less-qualified lesbian colleague and later demoted in favor of a gay man. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that applying a stricter standard to majority-group plaintiffs contradicts existing case law.
The ruling sends Ames’s case back to lower courts and may impact reverse discrimination claims in 20 states and D.C.
