By David P. Frantz and Stephen S. Zashin*
Today, in another significant shift for Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the United States Supreme Court has unanimously vacated the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, rejecting the Sixth Circuit’s long-standing “background circumstances” requirement.
The Sixth Circuit, whose jurisdiction includes Ohio, has long required majority-group Title VII plaintiffs to clear an extra hurdle before proceeding under the familiar McDonnell Douglas framework (the burden-shifting test courts apply when discrimination is alleged only via circumstantial evidence). This “background circumstances” rule—also followed in the Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuits—required white, male, heterosexual, or other majority-group employees to show additional evidence, such as statistics indicating a pattern of bias against majority employees or proof that a minority decisionmaker made the challenged employment decision, before a court would infer discrimination. Writing the lead opinion for the Court, Justice Jackson observed that Congress “establish[ed] the same protections for every ‘individual’—without regard to that individual’s membership in a minority or majority group,” leaving “no room for courts to impose special requirements on majority-group plaintiffs.” The Court remanded for application of the ordinary prima-facie standard.
The most intriguing part of the opinion perhaps stems from the concurrence by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch. They question whether McDonnell Douglas remains a useful framework. Such a dialogue signals that the Supreme Court could pursue even more far-reaching changes to Title VII down the road.
Today’s decision removes an evidentiary hurdle that existed only within the above-named Circuits and aligns majority- and minority-plaintiff claims under the same threshold test. Employers in Ohio and elsewhere should expect courts to assess termination, promotion, demotion, and hiring disputes involving majority employees without the now-defunct background circumstances prerequisite.
Ames arrives as Title VII doctrine continues to evolve rapidly. As covered in our recent alerts, a Texas federal court has just vacated key portions of the EEOC’s harassment guidance, and the Trump Administration continues to curtail DEI programs through executive orders and agency memoranda. With Title VII’s rules and enforcement in flux, employers should revisit every corner of their compliance program—policies, job postings, promotion and discipline files, RIF plans, complaint procedures, and training materials—to ensure they withstand the next challenge. Zashin & Rich can conduct a top-to-bottom review, fortify weak spots, and guide decision-makers before a new lawsuit or EEOC charge.
*David P. Frantz (an Ohio State Bar Association Certified Specialist in Labor and Employment Law) and Stephen S. Zashin (Z&R’s Managing Partner) have extensive experience representing employers in discrimination, harassment, and other workplace enforcement matters. If you have questions about the changes occurring under Title VII, please contact David P. Frantz (dpf@zrlaw.com) or Stephen S. Zashin at (ssz@zrlaw.com) via email or by phone at 216.696.4441.
