SCOTUS Takes Up Reverse Discrimination Framework Under Title VII

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted cert in a hotly contested case addressing the standards of proof applicable to reverse discrimination claims under Title VII. The case comes on the heels of the court's decision last term in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Mo., where it lowered the standard to prove that an employee suffered an adverse employment action (now, employees need only show that they suffered "some harm respecting an identifiable term or condition of employment"). In the next term, in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, SCOTUS will turn its attention to so-called "reverse" discrimination and whether members of a majority group will be required to meet a heightened pleading standard to prove their claims.