Employee Benefits

Everyone would probably agree that kittens are cute, cuddly and playful. But a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court has made playing with cats more risky for employers.

The case in question, Staub v. Proctor Hospital, involved what is known as the "cat's paw theory" of proving employment discrimination. Under this theory, it is generally recognized that an employer can be liable for employment discrimination even when the person who made the adverse employment decision was unbiased if the decision was influenced by the discriminatory acts and animus of a non-decision maker (such as biased reports of misconduct). The decision maker is considered to be the "paw" of the discriminatory cat. Over the years the courts have differed somewhat in their application of this theory.

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