Out With the Old and in with the New: The Second Circuit Shows It's Time for the Supreme Court to Finally Overrule McDonnell Douglas

Authors

Kerry S. Acocella, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

The note argues that the Desert Palace, Inc. v. Costa case represents a significant shift in employment discrimination law under Title VII, as it simplifies the process for plaintiffs to prove discrimination by allowing the use of circumstantial evidence in mixed-motive claims. The decision aligns with the 1991 Civil Rights Act and highlights the need to reassess the stricter standards of the McDonnell Douglas framework, which the author critiques as overly burdensome. The analysis also examines the implications of this shift through the lens of the Sanders v. NYC HRA case, advocating for the explicit overruling of McDonnell Douglas in favor of a more flexible mixed-motive approach.

Disciplines

Civil Rights and Discrimination | Evidence | Labor and Employment Law | Law | Legal Education

Recommended Citation

Kerry S. Acocella, Out With the Old and in with the New: The Second Circuit Shows It's Time for the Supreme Court to Finally Overrule McDonnell Douglas, 11 Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just. 125 (2004).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol11/iss1/7