Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog
In many employment discrimination lawsuits, proving pretext means showing evidence that the defendant employer’s reported reason for taking adverse employment action is contrived. In other words, the reason the company gave for the worker’s firing or other adverse employment event was made up in order to cover up its discriminatory intent.
If a California employment lawsuit plaintiff can prove “prima facie” (correct on first impression) evidence that there was employment discrimination, the court will shift the burden of proof to the employer to prove that it had a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the action it took. Plaintiff may then take this reason and provide evidence that it’s merely a pretext for discrimination. Plaintiff will have the burden of showing it was a cover-up, and not in fact the reason reason for the employment decision.
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision in Haynes v. Waste Connections, Inc. ruling the plaintiff employee had made a valid comparison of a similarly situated employee who was treated differently than he was. This served as evidence of that the defense was using this as a pretext for the reason reason – which was discriminatory. Continue Reading ›