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Sexual Orientation Discrimination Anti-Discrimination Policies Title VII

Offit Kurman

Sustaining LGBTQ+ Inclusivity: Legal and Workplace Strategies After Pride Month 2025

Offit Kurman on

Pride Month 2025, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall Riots, celebrates the LGBTQ+ community’s contributions, but inclusivity must extend beyond June to foster workplaces where everyone feels valued. Navigating the complex legal...more

Fisher Phillips

In the Crosshairs: Untangling the Legal Landscape on LGBTQ+ Workplace Rights Under Title VII

Fisher Phillips on

The EEOC recently updated its workplace harassment enforcement guidance to reflect a Texas federal court ruling that found the Biden-era EEOC had overstepped its authority by requiring bathroom, dress, and pronoun...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

Butler Snow LLP

Ames v Ohio Department of Youth Services: SCOTUS Removes Additional Requirement in “Reverse Discrimination” Cases

Butler Snow LLP on

In a decision issued June 5, 2025, the United States Supreme Court unanimously found that the burden of proof on a plaintiff asserting an employment discrimination claim is the same, regardless of whether the plaintiff is...more

Cole Schotz

U.S. Supreme Court Issues Reversal for Title VII “Reverse Discrimination” Claims

Cole Schotz on

On June 5, 2025, in a 9-0 opinion, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services that members of a “majority group” do not have to satisfy a heightened evidentiary standard to prevail on a...more

Epstein Becker & Green

SCOTUS Levels the Field for “Reverse” Discrimination: Potential Consequences

Epstein Becker & Green on

Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson states that Title VII does not require a plaintiff who is a member of a “majority” group to present “additional background circumstances” as the lower court had...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

"Supreme Court Shakes Things Up: Reversal of the 'Background Circumstances' Rule Marks Major Legal Shift"

Before June 5, 2025, the law (at least in some jurisdictions) was that majority-group employees (e.g., white or heterosexual) had to show additional “background circumstances” in addition to a prima facie case to prove...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

The feds may be backing down on LGBTQ protections, but should employers?

Don't overreact. (Or underreact.) This June, as corporations continue to roll back public support and funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, it is important for employers to be familiar with the current...more

Cozen O'Connor

Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services

Cozen O'Connor on

In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that Title VII’s protections against discrimination do not require majority group individuals (including white people, men, and heterosexuals) to...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Reverse Discrimination Suits Under Title VII

Quarles & Brady LLP on

In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court last Thursday held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) imposes no additional requirements on majority-group...more

Holland & Knight LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Holds No Higher Standard for "Majority Group" Discrimination Claims

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on June 5, 2025, resolving a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit split in the matter of Ames v. Ohio Dep't. of Youth Servs., 605 U.S. ____ (2025). The Supreme Court...more

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

SCOTUS Unanimously Rejects Heightened Burden for Majority-Group Discrimination Claims

On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of petitioner, Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, who commenced a reverse discrimination case against her former employer, the Ohio Department of Youth...more

Amundsen Davis LLC

Breaking News: U.S. Supreme Court Makes It Easier for Employees to Prove “Reverse Discrimination”

Amundsen Davis LLC on

Hune 5th, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified in the case of Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Services, that “the standard for proving disparate treatment under Title VII does not vary based on whether or not the plaintiff is a...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Supreme Court Removes Extra Hurdle for Reverse Discrimination Claims

Saul Ewing LLP on

On June 5th, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision making it easier for employees to prove claims of so-called “reverse” discrimination (i.e., suits brought by a member of a majority group alleging to have been treated...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Heightened Standard for "Reverse Discrimination" Claims

Husch Blackwell LLP on

On June 5, 2025, in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected the “background circumstances” test previously applied by several federal circuits in “reverse discrimination” cases....more

Fox Rothschild LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Standard of Proof in So-Called 'Reverse Discrimination' Cases

Fox Rothschild LLP on

The U.S. Supreme Court set the record straight on June 5, 2025 — reminding employers that all employees are created equal when it comes to Title VII litigation in federal court. The decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of...more

Fisher Phillips

Federal Judge Scraps Biden EEOC’s Gender Identity Guidance: Here’s What It Means for the Workplace

Fisher Phillips on

A federal judge in Texas just ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) exceeded its authority by issuing enforcement guidance requiring bathroom, dress, and pronoun accommodations. In Thursday’s order...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

New Administration Outlook: Guidance for Employers Amid the Attack on LGBTQ Workers

President Trump's orders targeting "woke gender ideology" do not change existing employment protections for LGBTQ employees, though threats to federal funding remain ambiguous. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and many...more

McGlinchey Stafford

Are Transgender and Non-Binary Employees Being Erased from Workplace Policies?

McGlinchey Stafford on

Due to growing awareness and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, the public has slowly begun to accept transgender individuals and those who do not identify as a man or a woman (non-binary). On his first day in...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

LGBTQ Rights in the Workplace: One Step Forward and Three Steps Back

Vicky Slade is an employment lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and co-leads the firm's DEI Counseling Practice. Vicky has extensive experience and training in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including an Advanced...more

Fisher Phillips

Pride Month is Here: Employer Resources for Supporting LGBTQ+ Workers and Staying Compliant All Year Long

Fisher Phillips on

Federal employment protections for LGBTQ+ individuals have greatly expanded over the past four years. While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) remains committed to preventing workplace discrimination...more

BakerHostetler

EEOC’s Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Workplace Harassment - What Should Employers Be Doing as a Result?

BakerHostetler on

On Oct. 2, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released proposed enforcement guidance on harassment in the workplace, and the proposed guidance has been receiving quite a bit of attention. This begs the...more

Fisher Phillips

Understanding Transgender Workers’ Rights: A Legal Update and 3 Best Practices for Employers to Create an Inclusive Environment

Fisher Phillips on

Employers should review their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and anti-discrimination policies as federal and state laws protecting transgender workers continue to take shape. Earlier this month, the Equal Employment...more

Fisher Phillips

Using Employees’ Requested Pronouns: It’s About Dignity, Respect and Workplace Compliance

Fisher Phillips on

As employers strive to create inclusive and compliant workplaces, you should note that using an employee’s requested pronouns not only conveys respect but also helps you stay in compliance with anti-discrimination laws. In...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Michigan Extends Employment Law Protections to Prohibit Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Although many company equal employment opportunity and no-harassment policies prohibit discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, not all applicable state civil rights laws provide such...more

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