( May 21, 2026, 2:54 PM EDT) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for writ of certiorari filed by two former employees of an Arkansas steel manufacturing facility who challenged the dismissal of claims for racial discrimination, creation of a racially hostile work environment and retaliation on the grounds that the appellate court wrongly applied the burden-shifting framework in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green and improperly weakened their race discrimination claims in conflict with Supreme Court precedent....