Cat's Paw Theory

The cat's paw theory is a legal concept that applies to employment discrimination cases. It is based on an old fable by Aesop, in which a monkey tricks a cat into retrieving chestnuts from a fire, leaving the cat with a burnt paw and no chestnuts. The theory holds that an employer can be liable for the unlawful motive of a subordinate employee who influences a supervisor to take an adverse action against another worker. The theory was first coined by Judge Richard Posner in 1990 and recognized by the Supreme Court in 2011 for some discrimination categories. It has since been expanded to cover other forms of employment claims, such as FMLA retaliation.

Here, we have a Plaintiff who was laid off in a 2017 reduction in force. The Plaintiff then sued his former employer. The Plaintiff produced evidence that officials at his former employer wanted to increase “age diversity” by hiring recent college graduates and reducing the number of older employees.

The court found that sufficient evidence had been produced, beyond “stray comments by those outside of the decision-making process,” to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the defendant had put in place a policy to replace older employees with younger ones.

If your business has any questions on this topic or any other matters, please do not hesitate to contact the attorneys at The Royal Law Firm at 413-586-2288.