Thomas Dissent Signals SCOTUS Appetite to Revisit Job Bias Test

Justice Clarence Thomas’ dissent in a Christian firefighter’s bias case may be a further sign the US Supreme Court is open to revisiting a 52-year-old proof scheme it established for workplace discrimination lawsuits.

Thomas is correct that the McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green burden-shifting framework can be complicated to apply, attorneys familiar with the issue said. It’s been in use since 1973, when the justices laid it out to help lower courts analyze circumstantial evidence. But as courts applied it over the years, it became confusing enough that it’s easy to get wrong and it’s acquired built-in aspects that ...