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

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 evidentiary standard to majority group plaintiffs seeking to state a prima facie claim for disparate treatment under Title VII—is inconsistent with Title VII.  The Court vacated the Sixth Circuit’s decision granting summary judgmen…

Title VII After Ames: What Employers Need to Know

As we anticipated and previewed in a previous advisory, on June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, reshaping how courts handle Title VII claims from employees who are members of a majority group. The Court struck down the “background circumstances” test, which had previously imposed additional hurdles on plaintiffs who are white, male, heterosexual, or otherwise members of a m…