Supreme Court sides with Ohio woman in reverse discrimination case

Washington — The Supreme Court on Thursday revived a lawsuit from an Ohio woman who claimed she was the victim of reverse discrimination because her employer denied her a promotion because she is straight.

In a unanimous decision in the case of Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, the high court tossed out a decision by a federal appeals court that dismissed Marlean Ames' case because she failed to clear a higher bar applied to members of a majority group in order for her employment discrimination case to proceed. The justices concluded that a "background circumstances" requirement cannot be squared with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The background circumstances rule required plaintiffs who are members of a majority group to put forth more evidence showing that their employer is "unusual" because it discriminates against the majority. Ames had argued that the requirement unfairly imposed a higher burden on her as a heterosexual woman.