News & Analysis as of

Supreme Court of the United States Equal Protection Employment Discrimination

The United States Supreme Court is the highest court of the United States and is charged with interpreting federal law, including the United States Constitution. The Court's docket is largely discretionary... more +
The United States Supreme Court is the highest court of the United States and is charged with interpreting federal law, including the United States Constitution. The Court's docket is largely discretionary with only a limited number of cases granted review each term.  The Court is comprised of one chief justice and eight associate justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate to hold lifetime positions. less -
Epstein Becker & Green

Beyond the Ban: Employer Considerations after SCOTUS’s Gender Care Ruling

Epstein Becker & Green on

On June 18, 2025, in the case of United States v. Skrmetti, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, concluding that the law (titled Prohibition on Medical...more

Gould + Ratner LLP

SCOTUS: ADA Doesn’t Extend to Retired Employees

Gould + Ratner LLP on

The United States Supreme Court has determined that the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) does not extend to discrimination claims from retired employees. In an 8–1 decision issued on June 20, 2025, the Court held that...more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: U.S. Supreme Court Ends Double Standard: All Employees Get Equal Protection in Title VII Discrimination...

Whiteford on

On June 5, 2025, in a unanimous and highly anticipated decision, the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, No. 23-1039, clarified a critical point in employment law: all employees—regardless of...more

Lerch, Early & Brewer

Supreme Court Clarifies: Title VII Protects

Lerch, Early & Brewer on

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court confirmed that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 guarantees equal protection to all employees, even if they belong to majority or minority groups....more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Majority-Group Plaintiffs Are Not Subject to a Heightened Evidentiary Standard Under Title VII

On June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Jackson in Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Services, ruling that the “background circumstances” test—which applies a heighted...more

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

Supreme Court Eliminates “Background Circumstances” Test in Reverse Discrimination Cases: What Employers Need to Know

In a landmark ruling significantly changing how workplace discrimination claims are litigated, the U.S. Supreme Court has removed a major barrier for plaintiffs alleging “reverse discrimination” claims under Title VII. In...more

Polsinelli

Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Evidentiary Requirement for Majority Groups in Title VII Cases

Polsinelli on

What You Need to Know: Equal Protection Under Title VII: On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Title VII’s protections apply equally to all individuals, regardless of whether they are in a...more

Woods Rogers

Supreme Court Reaffirms Equal Access to Title VII Protections

Woods Rogers on

In a unanimous decision issued June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services vacated a Sixth Circuit ruling that imposed a higher evidentiary burden on majority-group plaintiffs in Title...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Prima Facie “Background Circumstances” Test for Majority Group Plaintiffs

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court vacated the dismissal of a heterosexual woman’s Title VII claims, concluding that she was improperly subjected to a heightened prima facie standard that required her to show...more

Lathrop GPM

U.S. Supreme Court Says “Reverse Discrimination” Is Equally Unlawful - Clarifies Standard for Majority-Group Plaintiffs in Title...

Lathrop GPM on

The U.S. Supreme Court today swung wide open the door for all persons who experience employment discrimination based on their race, color, religion, sex or national origin to bring suit under Title VII of the 1964 Civil...more

Epstein Becker & Green

Disparate Impact Liability Under Fire

Epstein Becker & Green on

On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, President Trump signed EO 14281, titled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy (EO), stating a new Trump Administration policy “to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in...more

Frantz Ward LLP

Trump Attempts to Eliminate Disparate Impact Theory via Recent Executive Order

Frantz Ward LLP on

The disparate impact theory has long been used to argue that an employer’s facially neutral policy has a detrimental effect on a protected class of individuals. An often cited example is the use of an arrest to reject an...more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Supreme Court of the United States Poised to Clarify Standard in Discrimination Claims

On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, a case that could alter the legal landscape for employment discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil...more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: Supreme Court Hears Argument on Reverse Discrimination Claim with Implications for DEI

Whiteford on

Just as employers are reconsidering their approach to DEI and the myriad of potential risks such policies could present under current administration enforcement priorities, the Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case...more

McAfee & Taft

SCOTUS to weigh in on reverse discrimination claim brought by heterosexual employee

McAfee & Taft on

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, an employment discrimination lawsuit that focused on a reverse discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: What Employers and Educational Institutions Need to Know about the Attorney General’s February 5th Memo on...

Whiteford on

On February 5, 2025, the U.S. Attorney General (“AG”) Pam Bondi issued a memorandum to all Justice Department employees titled “Ending Illegal DEI and DEIA Discrimination and Preferences,” outlining the Department of...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

What to Know About the War Being Waged Against DEI

Can you still have DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs? How about affirmative action plans? The Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard garnered national attention in holding...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

2024 Employment Year-End Roundup

INTRODUCTION - The year 2024 brought significant developments to a wide range of employment law areas, from anti-discrimination and retaliation law to labor issues. Federal courts across the country expanded the rights of...more

Akerman LLP - HR Defense

U.S. Supreme Court to Review Reverse Discrimination Standard

Akerman LLP - HR Defense on

Should an employee’s burden to plead and prove workplace discrimination differ depending upon whether they are considered in a “majority” or “minority” group? The U.S. Supreme Court is now set to decide whether an arguably...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Implications of U.S. Supreme Court Decision Overturning Affirmative Action Precedent in Higher Education

Proskauer Rose LLP on

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ten DEI Steps Employers Should Consider Now

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The U.S. Supreme Court held the use of race in university and college admissions is unconstitutional in its Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. decisions on June 29, 2023. The Court’s ruling directly addresses only the...more

Mitratech Holdings, Inc

Supreme Court Strikes Down Affirmative Action in College Admissions

On Thurs. June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions policies are unconstitutional and invoked the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, stating that Harvard’s and UNC’s admissions programs...more

Gould + Ratner LLP

Workplace Diversity Efforts Remain Legal But Face Increased Scrutiny in Wake of Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision

Gould + Ratner LLP on

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s momentous ruling this summer on the use of affirmative action in college admissions, many companies may wonder what it means for their affirmative action and Diversity, Equity and...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

The Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Ruling: A Shift in How Private Employers Approach DEI?

The Supreme Court of the United States’ recent decision to strike down affirmative action admissions policies in higher education is having significant indirect consequences for private employers and their diversity, equity,...more

Butler Snow LLP

Reviewing Workplace DEI Practices in Light of Students for Fair Admissions Ruling

Butler Snow LLP on

On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court found affirmative action in the college admissions programs of two well-known universities to be unconstitutional. Despite the opinion only addressing two specific college...more

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