Supreme Court of the United States
Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services
June 5, 2025605 U.S. 303
Summary
The Supreme Court held that the Sixth Circuit’s “background circumstances” rule, which imposes an additional evidentiary burden on majority‑group plaintiffs to establish a prima facie Title VII claim, is inconsistent with the text of Title VII and the Court’s precedents. The judgment affirming summary judgment for the Ohio Department of Youth Services was vacated and the case remanded for application of the proper prima facie standard. The Court also reiterated that Title VII does not differentiate between majority and minority plaintiffs.