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\"Court<\/h3>\r\nDemonstrating \"pretext\" is one of the requirements of the McDonnell Douglas<\/em> Burden-Shifting Framework.\r\n

THE MCDONNELL DOUGLAS BURDEN-SHIFTING FRAMEWORK: PRETEXT<\/h3>\r\nThe McDonnell Douglas<\/em> Framework is also known as a burden-shifting scheme. \"The burden-shifting schemes, developed initially in the federal courts, were an effort to formulate uniform rules for making a prima facie case.\" Kastanis v. Educational Employees Credit Union<\/em>, 122 Wn.2d 483, 490, 859 P.2d 26 (1993) (hyperlink added). \"These rules were never intended as a charge to the jury.\" Id. (citing, United States Postal Serv. Bd. of Governors v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 716, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 1482, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983)).\r\n

IMPORTANT: The information contained on this page is for informational purposes only and is based upon my point of view. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the law, we make no warranty or guarantee concerning the accuracy or reliability of the content in this article. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct legal advice from your attorney. Please review our Disclaimer \/ Terms of Use \/ Privacy Policy<\/a> before proceeding.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\r\n\"Recognizing the 'lack of harmony' among judges on the rules applicable to establishing a prima facie case under title VII, the Supreme Court addressed the difficulty by formulating a 3-step burden-shifting test in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green<\/em>, 411 U.S. 792, 801, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1823, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973).\" Id.\u00a0<\/em>\r\n\r\nThe McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework has three steps:\r\n

STEP 1:<\/strong> The \"plaintiff bears the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case of discrimination, which creates a presumption of discrimination.\" Scrivener v. Clark College<\/em>, 181 Wn.2d 439, 446, 334 P.3d 541, (2014) (citing, Riehl<\/em>, 152 Wn.2d at 149-50; Kastanis v. Educ. Emps. Credit Union<\/em>, 122 Wn.2d 483, 490, 859 P.2d 26, 865 P.2d 507 (1993)) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added).<\/p>\r\n

STEP 2:<\/strong> \"[T]he burden shifts to the defendant [(i.e., employer burden)], who must articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse employment action.\" Mikkelsen v. Public Utility District No. 1 of Kittitas County<\/em>, 189 Wn.2d 516, 527 (Wash. 2017)\u00a0(internal citations and quotation marks omitted) (emphasis added).<\/p>\r\n

STEP 3:<\/strong> \"[I]f the defendant meets this burden, the plaintiff must produce sufficient evidence showing that the defendant's alleged nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse employment action was a pretext.\" Id.<\/em> (internal citations omitted) (emphasis & hyperlink added).<\/p>\r\n\r\n

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