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True To The Fable?: Examining The Appropriate Reach Of Cat's Paw Liability, Emily M. Kepner

Seventh Circuit Review

In its recent decision in Staub v. Proctor Hospital, the Seventh Circuit clarified its approach to the colorfully named "cat's paw" theory of employment discrimination. The cat's paw doctrine holds employers vicariously liable when an employee involved in the decisionmaking process, other than the non-biased formal decisionmaker, possessed discriminatory intent. Currently, the circuits disagree about how much control the biased employee must possess over the decisionmaker to impose liability on the employer. In Staub, the Seventh Circuit held that liability should be imposed only when the biased employee possessed "singular influence" over the formal decisionmaker, aligning the court …