Big Racial Discrimination Case Fizzles at High Court

One of the most consequential employment cases of the Supreme Court’s term fizzled during oral arguments Nov. 13, in a case that threatened to make it harder to sue for racial discrimination.

But early in the argument it became clear that all parties actually agreed that plaintiffs must ultimately meet a high standard to prevail in a racial discrimination suit.

The plaintiffs’ attorney, Erwin Chemerinsky, conceded that in the end plaintiffs must show that racial discrimination was the “but for” cause of the adverse action—that is, “that race made a difference” in the defendant’s decision, as Department of Justice ...