Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the “cat’s paw” theory of employment discrimination — that an employer can be liable for the discriminatory animus of an employee who influences, but does not make, an ultimate employment decision — applies to claims brought under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the law that protects individuals called to military service during their private employment.  In a unanimous decision, the Court held that

“if a supervisor performs an act motivated by anti-military animus that is intended by the supervisor to cause an adverse employment action, and if that act is a proximate cause of the ultimate employment action, then the employer is liable under USERRA.”

Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 131 S. Ct. 1186 (2011).Continue Reading How Can Employers Deflect The Cat’s Paw?