Supreme Court to Hear Case Alleging Anti-Straight Workplace Discrimination

The Supreme Court will hear a case today (Feb. 25) that "a coalition of city and county governments" warn could eventually burst open "floodgates" of litigation claiming anti-straight, anti-white workplace discrimination, according to Newsweek.

"A ruling in her favor by the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, could make it easier for non-minorities, including white people and heterosexuals, to pursue claims of illegal bias – often called 'reverse' discrimination – under a landmark federal anti-discrimination law," Reuters reported.

Newsweek reported that the plaintiff, Marlean Ames, claims her "gay boss" at the Ohio Department of Youth Service "overlooked her for promotion because she is straight and gave the job to a less qualified gay employee."

Ames also claims that "she was later demoted and her job given to another gay employee."

"That's how I came to feel that I was being discriminated on because I was straight and pushed aside for them," Ames told the press, according to Reuters.

The case could have national ramifications because it targets the way cases alleging workplace discrimination are handled. Under the current method, "those in a majority of the population, such as white or straight people, have the burden of showing discrimination," Newsweek explained. "Minority employees have only to show that the circumstances point to discrimination," whereas employees belonging to the dominant groups would assume the burden of proof if an employer accused of discrimination "can show an alternative explanation..."

In an amicus brief, the news outlet said, a coalition comprising "the Local Government Legal Center, the National Association of Counties, the National League of Cities and the International Municipal Lawyers Association" painted a picture in which a ruling for Ames could result in "a looser standard that is all but certain to open the floodgates of litigation" from "would-be plaintiffs with spurious claims" and could gut the "foundational standard" for the current judicial approach to such cases.

Ames' lawyer, Edward Gilbert, argues that "courts must apply the law unequally" under the current method of approaching workplace discrimination claims, Newsweek relayed.

The case comes before the court in the wake of a 2023 ruling that gutted "race conscious admissions" at colleges and universities – a ruling that has been applied to corporate America by conservatives pressuring businesses to eradicate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs designed to level the workplace playing field.

Those efforts have been successful, with major corporations retreating from DEI initiatives and the Department of Justice, at the Trump administration's bidding, threatening companies with criminal investigations if they do not set aside DEI efforts that, according to conservatives, "place White, straight men at a disadvantage," as Bloomberg Law said.