Burden Shifting Jury Instruction Okay in Discrimination Suits

The burden-shifting framework applicable to certain motions in employment discrimination cases may also be used to draft jury instructions, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said Feb. 7.

There is no categorical rule forbidding use of the so-called McDonnell-Douglas framework in drafting the instructions, the opinion by Judge Bruce M. Selya said.

Once an employee shows she is part of a protected group and that a discriminatory employment action was taken against her, the framework allows the employer to show a nondiscriminatory reason for the action. But the employee may then show the explanation is a pretext ...