Supreme Court Rejects Mixed-Motive Burden
Shifting Analysis in ADEA Claims
On June 18, 2009, in a 5 to 4 decision that favors employers,
the U.S. Supreme Court held that, under the Age Discrimination
in Employment Act (“ADEA”), a plaintiff must
prove that his age was the reason for an adverse employment
decision. The mixed-motive analysis, which applies to Title
VII cases and in which a plaintiff need only show that the
illegal reason played a part in the decision, does not apply
to age discrimination cases.
Facts of the Case: In Gross
v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., the plaintiff was employed
as a claims administration director, but was reassigned
to the position of claims project coordinator. At that time,
the employer transferred many of the plaintiff’s former
job responsibilities and duties to a newly created position
of claims administration manager. Given the reallocation
of duties, the plaintiff considered the reassignment to
be a demotion, which he alleged to be based in part on his
age. The jury was given a “mixed-motive” instruction,
in which it was directed to find for the plaintiff if it
found that age was a “motivating factor” (i.e.
that it played a part) in the demotion. The jury was further
instructed to find against the plaintiff if the employer
proved it would have demoted the plaintiff regardless of
his age. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
reversed the jury’s verdict for the plaintiff, finding
that the jury had been wrongly instructed on the burden
of proof.
The Court’s Ruling: The
Supreme Court held that a mixed-motive analysis, which has
been recognized in Title VII claims, does not apply to ADEA
claims. Rather, to prevail in an ADEA claim, a plaintiff
must show “that age was the ‘but-for’
cause of the challenged adverse employment action.”
Thus, even where a plaintiff has proffered some evidence
that age was a motivating factor, the employer will not
be required to show that it would have taken the same action
regardless of age.
Lessons Learned: This decision
clarifies that the burden of proof in an ADEA case is a
heavy one that must be borne only by the plaintiff. Employees
will have to convince a jury that age was the reason for
the adverse action.
June 18, 2009
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Rosenthal, LLP provides this publication for informational
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