Recent Developments in the Use of Summary Judgment to Resolve Employment Discrimination Cases

For employment lawyers, the way discrimination cases are resolved has changed a lot in the past few years. Summary judgment, which means a case can be decided without a trial, is now used a lot more often. This means it’s really important for lawyers to quickly figure out if a discrimination case has a good chance of winning or not. This is especially important for lawyers who represent the person who says they were discriminated against. If they take on a case that probably won’t win, they could end up owing a lot of money to the other side. So it’s really important for them to be able to tell if a case has a good chance of surviving summary judgment before taking it on. In federal court, when someone asks for summary judgment, they have to show there’s no real issue to argue about in the case. Then, the other side has to come up with evidence to prove there is an issue. In employment discrimination cases, it used to seem like summary judgment wasn’t fair, but now courts are saying it should be treated the same as in other cases. Courts have expressed caution about using summary judgment in employment discrimination cases, but in practice they still often grant it. Recently, courts have acknowledged that summary judgment can be used in these cases. The Supreme Court has said that discrimination cases should be treated the same as other cases when it comes to summary judgment. The 11th Circuit Court has also stated that summary judgment applies to discrimination cases just like other cases. This means that summary judgment can be used to decide many issues in employment discrimination cases. Summary judgment is a legal way to quickly finish a case if the person suing can’t prove they were treated unfairly because of their race or other protected characteristic. If the person suing can’t find other employees who were treated better and are similar to them, or can’t show any direct evidence of discrimination, the case will probably end in favor of the person being sued. It can be difficult to prove discrimination in the workplace. To do so, a person must show that they were treated differently than others who were in the same situation. Even if someone hears offensive remarks at work, it’s not always enough to prove discrimination in court. Employers are allowed to make decisions, even if they seem unfair or unwise, as long as they have a legitimate reason for doing so. If someone does have evidence of discrimination, such as offensive remarks, the court will still consider if the employer would have made the same decision for other reasons. In the end, it’s not easy to prove discrimination in court, even if someone experiences unfair treatment at work. Summary judgment is a legal tool that can be used to dismiss a case before it goes to trial. In employment discrimination cases, a plaintiff needs to show that they are a member of a protected group, that they were qualified for the job, and that they were treated differently than someone outside the protected group who did the same thing. If the plaintiff can’t show this, their case is unlikely to succeed. It’s important for plaintiffs to gather evidence and be aware of how others in similar situations were treated in order to have a strong case. The court ruled that a black employee and a white coworker were not similar enough for the employee to claim discrimination. The employee had more arrests and they were for violent assaults, while the coworker only had two arrests for non-violent offenses. The court also found that the employer had a reason for not firing the coworker related to a previous agreement, but not for the employee. The court reversed the decision in a discrimination case because the plaintiff didn’t prove that the employer’s reasons for discipline were not honest. It’s not enough to just show the employer’s decision was wrong – you have to show they were discriminatory. The law is meant to prevent discrimination, not just mistakes. The employer only needs to show they had a good faith reason for their actions, not that they were right. This is important to balance preventing discrimination while still allowing employers to manage their workforce. If you believe you were not promoted because of discrimination, you need to show that you are in a protected class, that you were qualified and applied for the promotion, that you were rejected, and that someone else who was less qualified and not in a protected class was promoted instead. If you can prove this, your employer has to explain why they chose someone else, and you have to show that their reason is just an excuse for discrimination. You can do this by showing that you are actually more qualified than the person they promoted. In a case where a woman claimed she was passed over for a job because of her gender, the court said that just being more qualified than the person hired is not enough to prove discrimination. The woman had to show that she was substantially more qualified, to the point where no reasonable person would have picked the other candidate. Another woman tried the same argument, but the court said that even if she was more qualified than the person hired, the company was still allowed to pick that person if they believed they were better qualified. Cofield believed she was more qualified than Bowen for the Plant Superintendent job at Goldkist, but her qualifications weren’t significantly better. The court won’t second guess Goldkist’s decision to prioritize qualifications over length of service. In a different case, a black man was passed over for promotion in favor of less qualified white employees. He presented evidence that he was actually more qualified and that his supervisors recommended him for the promotion. The court decided that a jury could easily find in his favor, so summary judgment wasn’t appropriate. Summary judgment is a very important part of employment discrimination cases. Many cases are resolved at this stage, so it’s important for lawyers to know how to assess whether a case can be resolved on summary judgment. This means understanding the federal summary judgment standard and how courts apply it. It’s a key skill for employment lawyers, from deciding whether to take a case to figuring out its value. This knowledge can make a big difference in the success of a case. Lee A. Kraftchick is a lawyer who works for Miami-Dade County and has been in charge of its labor section since 1984. He was also a law clerk for a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/recent-developments-in-the-use-of-summary-judgment-to-resolve-employment-discrimination-cases/