Ninth Circuit Joins Sister Courts in Deciding
McDonnell Douglas Still Applies to ADEA

A lower court erred when it declined to apply the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting analysis at the summary judgment stage of an Army employee’s age discrimination case, and instead required ultimate evidence of “but-for” causation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held Jan. 12 on an open issue (Shelley v. Geren).

In finding that Gross v. FBL Financial Services Inc., 129 S.Ct. 2343, 106 FEP Cases 833 (2009); 116 DLR AA-1, 6/19/09, did not explicitly overrule the circuit’s longstanding rule of using the McDonnell Douglas test to analyze cases brought under the Age ...