Fenwick Employment Brief - March 14, 2011
Mondaq Business Briefing › United States Law Articles in English (2011)
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Fenwick Employment Brief - March 14, 2011
U.S. SUPREME COURT VALIDATES "CAT'S PAW" THEORY OF LIABILITY
In a troubling decision for employers, the United States Supreme Court has endorsed the so-called "cat's paw" doctrine of employment discrimination. Under the "cat's paw" doctrine – named for a fable in which a monkey flatters a cat into extracting roasted chestnuts from an open fire and results in the cat burning its paws in the process – an employer may be held liable for the discriminatory animus of a supervisor who influenced, but did not make, the adverse employment decision. Staub v. Proctor Hospital involved a claim of military status discrimination in violation of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act ("USERRA"). Vincent Staub, a medical imaging technician and Army Reservist, alleged that his two supervisors were hostile ...See the full content of this document
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