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Direct Evidence Not Needed in Mixed-Motive Cases
The Supreme Court ended its last term holding that direct evidence of discrimination is not necessary in a Title VII mixed-motive case. Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa, 123 S. Ct. 2148 (2003) brings an end to an appellate court split regarding evidentiary burdens that began with the Court's plurality decision in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228 (1989).
In Price Waterhouse, the Court considered facts indicating that both legitimate and illegal reasons motivated an employment decision. When Ann Hopkins was passed over for partnership, she was told that she needed to “take a course at charm school” and to “dress more femininely.” But there was also evidence to suggest that the company had legitimate concerns about Hopkins' performance. The Court concluded that under Title VII, an employer may avoid liability “by proving that it would have made the same decision even if it had not allowed [protected status] to play such a role.”
The Justices, however, could not agree how the burden of proof fell out in a mixed-motive case. Four saw no “limitation on the possible ways of proving that stereotyping played a motivating role in an employment decision.” In a concurring opinion, Justice O'Connor suggested that the burden should shift to the employer where a plaintiff shows “by direct evidence that an illegitimate criterion was a substantial factor in the decision.”
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