Cat's Paw Theory

By fu_Gracie87 11 Apr, 2022 Post a Comment

The cats paw theory borrows from an old fable in which a conniving monkey convinces a cat to reach into a fire to get roasting chestnuts. The cats paw theory gets its name from the fable of a 17th Century French poet about a monkey who persuaded a cat to pull chestnuts out of the fire so the cat gets burned and the monkey makes off with the chestnutsÂ In its simplest form in the workplace context the employer gets the legal blame even if the actual executive or supervisor who fires or demotes a.

Pets Kitten Pets Cat Paws

Based on a fable from the 1600s the cats paw theory states that an employer can be liable for the discriminatory acts of a biased supervisor when that supervisor influenced the unbiased employment decision maker.

. Koppers Inc 726 F3d 910 915 7th Cir. As noted the cats paw theory occurs when a biased supervisor who doesnt have decision-making authority uses the decision-maker as a dupe in a scheme to discriminate against the employee. In interpreting the so-called cats paw theory of liability the high court declined to adopt the hard-and-fast rule suggested by the employer that a decisionmakers independent investigation and rejection of an employees allegations of discriminatory animus should negate the effect of any prior discrimination.

The cats paw theory can support individual liability under 1981 for a subordinate employee who intentionally causes a decision-maker to take adverse action against another employee in retaliation for statutorily protected activity Johnson v. The cats paw theory borrows from an old fable in which a conniving monkey convinces a cat to reach into a fire to get roasting chestnuts. The cats paw theory holds that an employer should be liable for adverse employment actions it takes at the behest of or instigation of a non-decision maker when the action is motivated by the non-decision-makers unlawful discriminatory or retaliatory animus.

The cats paw theory is named after one of Aesops fables in which a clever monkey flatters or in some versions of the story forces a naïve cat into snatching chestnuts out of a fire. Proctor Hospital 562 US___ 2011 LW 691244 Case No. The cats paw theory of liability as explained infra is a method of imputing causation onto an employer by an employees actions.

Under the Staub rule the employer will be held liable if three conditions are met. Proctor Hospital 562 US. Courts have applied the cats paw theory to hold employers liable for discrimination where the decision maker was not biased or based the.

Proctor Hospital made the cats paw theory slightly more employee-friendly. 1 a non-decision-maker who is the employees supervisor is motivated by discriminatory or retaliatory intent. 2009 In the employment discrimination context what is known as the cats paw theory refers to a situation in which a biased subordinate who lacks decisionmaking power influences the unbiased decisionmaker to make an adverse employment decision thereby hiding the subordinates.

411 the cats paw theory states discriminatory animus may be imputed to a neutral decision-maker if a supervisor recommends an adverse employment action due to a discriminatory animus and that recommendation is a motivating factor of the decision-makers ultimate adverse employment action In other words even if you as the owner had no. In the discrimination context the theory means that an employer like the duped cat can be liable. 2 the biased non-decision-maker performs an act.

It typically arises in an employment law context where a biased subordinate employee taints a neutral employers employment decision making it a discriminatory action. The cats paw theory highlights the importance of employers conducting diligent and independent investigations prior to terminating employees as merely undertaking a paper review of an informers recommendation without performing an independent investigation will not be sufficient to shield an employer from liability if the recommendation is racially motivated. October 17 2015 by Hinshaw Culbertson LLP.

The Cats Paw Theory in discrimination cases is based upon a fable in which a clever monkey tricks an unwitting cat to pull chestnuts from a. An employee can establish a cats paw theory of liability in an employment discrimination suit when a biased person who lacks the ability to make employment decisions dupes the official. In 2011 the United States Supreme Court made thecats paw theory of liability significantly easier for employees to prove.

The cats paw theory of liability is named after an ancient fable in which a monkey convinces a cat to pull chestnuts out of a fire and then gobbles them up. In the employment discrimination context the Cats Paw theory refers to a supervisor with no discriminatory animus the cat being manipulated by another who harbors such animus the monkey into taking adverse action against an employee. The cat is duped burns its paw and the monkey enjoys the chestnuts with no harm.

For example the biased supervisor could make false statements to the decision-maker to get the employee fired. In recent years the cats paw theory of discrimination has been raised in the context of employment law as a means of holding employers liable for the discriminatory animus of a supervisor who was not directly responsible for making an adverse employment decision. A 2011 Supreme Court Opinion Staub v.

The monkey quickly eats them leaving the cat with a burnt paw and no chestnuts. Under anti-discrimination statutes an employee can bring a retaliation claim under a theory of liability referred to as a subordinate bias theory also referred to as the cats paw theory in which the employee can claim that an adverse action ostensibly. 09-400 March 1 2011 the United States Supreme Court affirmed employer liability under the Cats Paw theory1 which attributes an intermediate supervisors animus toward the employee to the disciplining supervisor despite the disciplining supervisors lack of knowledge of the intermediate supervisors animus toward.

2013 is a defense favorable opinion. Of Transp 566 F3d 582 587 n5 6th Cir. What is the subordinate bias or cats paw theory of liability.

The Cats Paw Theory in discrimination cases is based upon a fable in which a clever monkey tricks an unwitting cat to pull chestnuts from a fire so that the monkey can make off with the chestnuts without burning himself. For New York employers the Cats Paw theory of liability is more than just a childrens fable.

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