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The Employer Handbook Blog
🎧 I Went on a Podcast to Talk About the Supreme Court’s Ames Decision. Here’s Why Employers Should Listen.
You already know the plaintiff won. What you might not know is what that means for your workplace policies, documentation practices, and DEI strategy. I broke it all down on this week’s On Record PR podcast.
TL;DR: I joined Gina Rubel to talk about the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services. We covered the legal implications, why consistency matters more than identity, and what employers—especially law firms—should be doing right now. Listen here: https://lnkd.in/ep2Bqbag
The Supreme Court just reminded everyone: Title VII protects individuals, not groups.
On this week’s On Record PR podcast, I joined Gina Rubel to discuss Ames, where the Court threw out the Sixth Circuit’s “background circumstances” rule—a rule that made it harder for majority-group plaintiffs to advance their claims.
Quick refresher:
The plaintiff, a heterosexual woman, claimed she was passed over for promotions and demoted in favor of gay colleagues. The lower court said she had to prove her employer was the rare type that discriminates against people like her. The Supreme Court said that’s not how Title VII works.
Why it matters for employers:
- No more extra hurdles. Courts can’t raise the bar just because of who’s bringing the claim.
- Bias is bias. That’s true even if it’s a white employee or a straight woman alleging it.
- Justice Thomas is over McDonnell Douglas. He said the whole framework is judge-made and maybe should go.
We also discussed:
- The growing legal pressure on DEI programs—and how to tell the difference between what’s aspirational and what’s legally risky
- How the Muldrow decision makes it easier for employees to bring discrimination claims based on even small harms
- What employers should be doing now: audit complaint processes, document everything, and apply policies with consistency—regardless of who’s on the receiving end
đź“Ť Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/ep2Bqbag
📖 Missed the blog post? Catch up here: Bias Doesn’t Care If You’re Straight. Now the Supreme Court Doesn’t Either.