Title Vii and Reverse Discrimination: the Prima Facie Case
TITLE VII AND REVERSE DISCRIMINATION: THE PRIMA FACIE CASE JANICE C. WHITESIDE* INTRODUCTION In recent years, the number of claims filed under Title VII has virtually exploded.1 Although most envision discrimination as an evil directed against minorities and women, a substantial number of recent claims have involved “reverse” discrimination.2 Despite the number of reverse discrimination claims, the circuits have been unable to agree upon the requirements of the McDonnell Douglas3 prima facie case for a reverse discrimination claim. The disagreement has centered around the first element of the prima facie case. The issue must be resolved because a recent decision which severely restricted the permissible scope of affirmative action programs may further increase the number of reverse discrimination claims filed.4 This Note analyzes how the Supreme Court of the United States will resolve the issue. Section I discusses the Court’s decisions addressing Title VII. It outlines the * J.D. Candidate, 1998, Indiana University School of Law—Indianapolis; B.A., 1995, Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana. 1. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) (1994) provides that “[i]t shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer . to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” In fiscal 1995, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received approximately 87,500 complaints. About 34% of those cases involved race discrimination, and 30% involved sex discrimination. Blacks filed 86% of the approximately 30,000 charges based upon race, and the remaining 14% involved reverse racial discrimination claims.
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