EEOC Head Lauds New Supreme Court Ruling as Agency Targets DEI

EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas applauded the US Supreme Court’s ruling that revived a heterosexual woman’s job bias case as the agency pursues an agenda to root out diversity programs the Trump administration deems discriminatory.

The Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously ruled in Ames v. Ohio Youth Services that a federal appeals court wrongly decided that workers in majority groups, such as heterosexual, White, or male workers, need to meet a more rigorous evidentiary test to bring workplace bias claims than those in groups that have historically faced discrimination.

The ruling the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Republican acting leader welcomed in her Friday statement will likely make it easier for her to pursue her priority of bringing cases challenging diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

These cases are typically filed by White, male, or heterosexual workers.

“In the wake of Ames, there can be no more confusion,” Lucas said. “Following this week’s decision, the flawed ‘background circumstances’ test no longer shields employers—including ‘our Nation’s largest and most prestigious'—in any jurisdiction nationwide from any race or sex discrimination that may arise from those employers’ DEI initiatives.”,

The plaintiff in Ames claimed under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act she was denied a promotion and was demoted from her position at the Ohio Department of Youth Services because she is heterosexual. The department put less qualified gay people in jobs instead, she said.

The justices nullified a test some courts had applied for this type of bias claim that required plaintiffs to show theirs’ was the “unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”

The EEOC signed onto an amicus brief in Ames filed in support of the plaintiff.

The commission and Department of Justice in March released guidance outlining what constitutes unlawful DEI. This was shortly after Lucas sent 20 law firms letters requesting information about their diversity practices.

“The EEOC stands ready to help employers comply with their obligations not to discriminate,” Lucas said Friday. “But, where necessary, the agency also is prepared to root out discrimination where it remains entrenched.”