Law Commons^™

Caught By The Cat's Paw, Sandra F. Sperino

Faculty Publications

Federal employment discrimination law is enamored with court-created doctrines with catchy names. A fairly recent addition to the canon is the concept of the "cat's paw," formally recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court in Staub v. Proctor Hospital. With its name coined by Judge Richard Posner and drawn from a fable, the concept of cat's paw has taken ground quickly, discussed in hundreds of cases. The Supreme Court recognized the cat's paw theory in a case where a hospital fired a worker. The person who made the ultimate decision did not have impermissible bias. However, her decision was influenced by …