“Reverse discrimination” — a bias against majority-group members — is not a new concept. It has origins that date back at least 47 years to Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, a U.S. Supreme Court case in which SCOTUS upheld affirmative action, finding that race could be one factor among many considered by college admissions officers.
The issue has gained renewed prominence after Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, however — a 2023 Supreme Court case that decided just the opposite, holding that race-conscious admissions are unconstitutional. “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.
More recently, SCOTUS heard arguments in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, with a majority of the court signaling they would be likely to strike down a rule requiring plaintiffs to provide extra evidence to show the employer is an “unusual employer who discriminates against the majority.”
With SCOTUS forging a colorblind path forward — and DEI programs increasingly coming under the microscope — the courts are contending with a “flood” of reverse discrimination claims. Read on for a sampling of recent lawsuits and a grounding in the current legal landscape.