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Supreme Court Sharpens 'Cat's Paw' Liability

BY Stacey L. Smiricky
April 24, 2011

In its recent unanimous decision in Staub v. Proctor Hospital, 131 S.Ct. 45 (2010), the U.S. Supreme Court both recognized the concept of “cat's paw” liability in employment discrimination cases ' where a biased non'decision-maker acts to bring about the termination of an employee by improperly influencing an unbiased decision-maker ' and sharpened its claws. In its opinion, which was the first time the Supreme Court had addressed the issue since a 1990 Seventh Circuit decision coined the term ' the court upheld cat's paw liability as a viable theory and struck down a commonly accepted exception. As a result, Staub has significant implications for all employers ' and greatly increases potential liability.

Previous Cat's Paw Precedent

In its 1990 ruling in Shager v. Upjohn Co., 913 F.2d 398, (7th Cir. 1990), the Seventh Circuit first recognized the “cat's paw” theory of liability. To establish a cat's paw case under Seventh Circuit standards, a plaintiff had to show that the non'decision-maker exerted “singular influence” over the decision-maker in order to harm the plaintiff for discriminatory reasons. Even though the non'decision-maker may lack formal authority to take adverse action, the employer is still liable. However, to prevent this theory from “spiraling out of control,” the Seventh Circuit developed an exception. If a decision-maker conducts an independent investigation into the facts and is not “wholly dependent” on the improper influence, the employer is not liable. Thus, so long as the decision-maker did not simply take the non'decision-maker's word for it, any resulting action is to be respected as a product of unbiased analysis.

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