The Supreme Court is taking up the case of an Ohio woman who claims she suffered sex discrimination in her employment because she is straight.
The justices on Friday agreed to review an appellate ruling that upheld the dismissal of the discrimination lawsuit filed by the woman, Marlean Ames, against the Ohio Department of Youth Services. Arguments probably will take place early next year.
Ames, who has worked for the department for 20 years, contends she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted because she is heterosexual. Both the job she sought and the one she had held were given to LGBTQ people.
That’s not sex discrimination. Sex discrimination is when you’re discriminated against because of your sex - you know, like how they didn’t let women be doctors or lawyers or run marathons and stuff. This is (possibly) orientation discrimination, which is also absolutely a thing, but I feel like she should lose simply because she’s claiming the wrong thing.
Orientation discrimination has been ruled to be sex discrimination. This gives protection to people in states where orientation is not itself a protected class.
The rationale is that if there is discrimination against a woman for dating other women, that is sex discrimination because a man would not face similar consequences for dating a woman.
Yeah, and the justice who wrote that opinion was Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and it’s a great read.