Compliance Stuff

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “ Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy ” (“Executive Order”). This Executive Order is one in a series issued by President Trump with the goal of eliminating Diversity Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) policies and practices . This Executive Order focuses on dismantling legal claims for discrimination based on a disparate impact theory of liability. Under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”), among many other federal and state laws, disparate impact liability exists where a neutral policy or practice is shown to have a disproportionately negative effect on a protected group, such as race, national origin, and gender, regardless of intent. There are various legal defenses to disparate impact claims , including showing that the policy or practice is “job-related” or based on a legitimate “business necessity.” Notwithstanding available affirmat...

  On February 26, 2025, the United States Supreme Court entertained oral argument in   Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services , a case that centered on whether a plaintiff who is a member of a majority group must meet a higher burden—namely, showing supporting “background circumstances”—in establishing a   prima facie   case of discrimination under Title VII. Background Plaintiff Ames, a heterosexual woman, began working at the Ohio Department of Youth Services (the “Department”) in 2004. In 2014, she was promoted to Administrator of the Prison Rape Elimination Act.  In April 2019, Plaintiff applied for another promotion, but was not selected.  Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff alleges that her supervisor suggested that Plaintiff retire.  In May 2019, Plaintiff was demoted, which resulted in a significant pay cut, and the Department hired a 25-year-old gay man for the position.  Later that year, a gay woman received the promotion Plaintiff had appl...