On June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, rejecting a longstanding rule applied by the Sixth Circuit and other circuit courts that imposed a heightened evidentiary burden on majority-group plaintiffs bringing claims for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Specifically, the Court held that such plaintiffs are not required to demonstrate “background circumstances” to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under the McDonnell Douglas framework. In doing so, the Court resolved a circuit split and reaffirmed that Title VII’s protections apply uniformly to “any individual,” regardless of demographic status.
Background: Sixth Circuit’s “Background Circumstances” Rule
Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, sued the Ohio Department of Youth Services after she was denied a promotion and demoted, with her previous position filled by a gay man. She alleged that these adverse employment actions were taken because of her sexual orientation, in violation of Title VII’s disparate-treatment provision.
Title VII makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, or religion -- including sexual orientation. Because Ames did not have direct proof of discrimination, the courts applied the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework, a legal test used to evaluate claims based on circumstantial evidence.
Both the district court and the Sixth Circuit applied that framework but required Ames to first show “background circumstances” suggesting the employer was the rare type that discriminates against members of a majority group. Because Ames did not present statistical evidence or proof related to the protected traits of decisionmakers, the courts found she failed to meet her burden and granted summary judgment for the employer.
Supreme Court’s Decision: Title VII Applies Uniformly
Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson rejected the Sixth Circuit’s “background circumstances” rule, holding that Title VII does not allow courts to impose a heightened evidentiary burden based on a plaintiff’s group identity. The statute prohibits intentional discrimination against “any individual” because of a protected characteristic, regardless of whether that person is a member of a majority or minority group.
The Court found the Sixth Circuit’s approach inconsistent with both the plain language of Title VII and decades of Supreme Court precedent. As the Court explained, the law protects all individuals equally, and courts cannot create additional barriers for certain plaintiffs simply because of their race, sex, or sexual orientation.
The opinion also reaffirmed that the McDonnell Douglas framework is intended to remain flexible and context-dependent. The Court has long held that the precise requirements for making a prima facie case can vary depending on the context and were “never intended to be rigid, mechanized, or ritualistic.” The Sixth Circuit’s rule departed from that principle by uniformly requiring all majority-group plaintiffs to make a specific additional showing—such as statistical evidence or information about a decisionmaker’s protected trait—solely based on group membership. The Court found this categorical requirement inconsistent with both Title VII’s text and its own instructions in McDonnell Douglas, which reject “inflexible,” one-size-fits-all evidentiary standards in disparate-treatment cases.
Court Rejects Ohio’s Reframing of the Rule
Ohio argued that the “background circumstances” requirement was not an added burden, but merely another way to assess whether the surrounding facts supported an inference of discrimination. The Court disagreed, emphasizing that the Sixth Circuit explicitly imposed the requirement because Ames was a member of a majority group. According to the Court, Ames had otherwise satisfied the basic elements of a prima facie case, but her claim was dismissed solely due to this extra judicially-created hurdle.
What This Means for Employers
The Ames decision eliminates a barrier that some courts had imposed on so-called “reverse discrimination” claims, confirming that Title VII does not distinguish between majority and minority status when evaluating allegations of intentional discrimination. Employers should anticipate that plaintiffs of any background can invoke the same prima facie standards when bringing Title VII claims.
As a practical matter, the decision clarifies that majority-group plaintiffs alleging discrimination under Title VII must be assessed under the same evidentiary standard as all other claimants. It reinforces that courts may not impose heightened thresholds based on a plaintiff’s demographic status, and that Title VII applies equally to all individuals. Going forward, we may see a rise in claims brought by majority plaintiffs.
*Special thanks to CDF law clerk Ryan Kim for his research and analysis for this article.
