Racial Discrimination or Poor Performance? The 7th Circuit Must Decide

Suppose a factory worker consistently fails to meet her employer’s productivity goals and is eventually terminated for poor performance. An open-and-shut case, right? Not so fast. A recent decision by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals—which covers Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin—illustrates the intricacies of the so-called cat’s-paw theory of liability, premised on the ability of a culpable actor to use an innocent decision maker as an unknowing tool of her animus.

The complete article originally appeared on HR.BLR.com.

This article was written by Steven L. Benneman who is a partner at Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll, LLP, and an editor of the Illinois Employment Law Letter. He can be reached at [email protected].