No. 22-713

Shannon Gladden v. The Procter & Gamble Distributing, LLC

Lower Court: Eleventh Circuit
Docketed: 2023-01-31
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: bostock bostock-interpretation but-for but-for-causation circuit-split civil-rights employment-discrimination evidence-evaluation motivating-factor pretext pretext-analysis
Key Terms:
SocialSecurity DueProcess EmploymentDiscrimina
Latest Conference: 2023-03-17
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does the but-for reasoning referenced in Bostock apply to McDonnell Douglas pretext analysis?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED The questions presented are: 1) Does the but-for reasoning referenced in Bostock apply to McDonnell Douglas pretext analysis?: In the decision below, the Eleventh Circuit appears to have ignored what this Court reinforced in Bostock, with regard to the issue of multiple versus sole causes or motivating factors. The problem is that the McDonnell Douglas pretext analysis can be a back door to avoid complying with a proper but-for or motivating factor analysis, if Bostock’s analysis, which does not mention pretext, is not clarified explicitly to apply to pretext analysis. Failure to answer this question in the affirmative “means a defendant can[] avoid liability just by citing some other factor[, the supposed pretext,] that contributed to its challenged employment decision” Bostock, 140 8. Ct. 1731, 1739 207 L. Ed. 2d 218 (2020) (emphasis to “can” added). 2) Must the Eleventh Circuit’s prejudicial characterization of Petitioner’s evidence give way to the Seventh Circuit Rule that does not diminish or limit evidence?: The Seventh Circuit has held, ‘that district courts must stop separating “direct” from “indirect” evidence and proceeding as if they were subject to different legal standards.’ Ortiz v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., 834 F.3d 760, 765 (7th Cir. 2016). ‘We are instead concerned,’ the Seventh Circuit has said, ‘about the proposition that evidence must be sorted into different piles, labeled “direct” and “indirect,” that are evaluated differently. Instead, all evidence belongs in a single pile and must be evaluated as a whole.’ Id., at 766.

Docket Entries

2023-03-20
Petition DENIED. Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
2023-02-22
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 3/17/2023.
2023-02-21
Waiver of right of respondent The Proctor & Gamble Distributing, LLC to respond filed.
2023-01-26
2022-12-05
Application (22A485) granted by Justice Thomas extending the time to file until January 26, 2023.
2022-11-30
Application (22A485) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from December 27, 2022 to February 25, 2023, submitted to Justice Thomas.

Attorneys

Shannon Gladden
Andrew Thelston Mosley IIMosley Law Offices, Petitioner
The Proctor & Gamble Distributing, LLC
Jeffrey A. SchwartzJackson Lewis PC, Respondent