by Matthew M. Yelovich, Jennifer Kennedy Park, Christopher R. Kavanaugh, and Ethan Singer
From left to right: Matthew M. Yelovich, Jennifer Kennedy Park, Christopher R. Kavanaugh, and Ethan Singer (photos courtesy of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP)
On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services that plaintiffs who belong to a majority group do not face a heightened burden to establish a disparate treatment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). The Court’s holding resolves a significant circuit split and affirms that Title VII’s protections apply equally to all individuals. This decision arrives as the Trump Administration has launched significant new initiatives to bring Title VII and civil rights investigations and claims against employers with diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) programs that the Administration views as unlawful. In light of this decision and the various DEI-related Executive Orders, employers should consider the following:
- Employers should continue to carefully scrutinize human resource related programs that consider demographic characteristics in any way.
- Employers should review their whistleblower programs, policies, and practices to ensure they are robust around discrimination-related issues.
- Notably, the Ames decision considered a disparate treatment claim, and the Administration has ordered the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and other agencies to cease pursuing disparate impact investigations and claims.[1]