ADA Mixed-Motive Plaintiff Must Now Prove That Her Employer Would Not Have Fired Her But For The Disability
SERWATKA v. ROCKWELL AUTOMATION, INC. (January 15, 2010)
Kathleen Serwatka was an employee of Rockwell Automation. Upon her discharge, she brought suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). She alleged that she was discharged because her employer considered her to be disabled. At trial, the jury indicated its belief on a special verdict form that a) Rockwell terminated Serwatka because it believed her to be disabled and b) that Rockwell would have fired her anyway. Treating the verdict as a mixed-motive finding, the court awarded no damages but did grant declaratory and injunctive relief and awarded attorneys fees. Rockwell appeals.
In their opinion, Judges Rovner, Evans, and Van Bokkelen vacated and remanded. The Court began its analysis with the Supreme Court's decision in Price Waterhouse. In that case, the Supreme Court held the an employer could violate Title VII even if an improper motive was not the only motive for a termination decision. It also held, however, that an employer would escape liability if it could prove that it would have made the same decision in the absence of the improper motive. Courts applied that Title VII decision to other anti-discrimination statutes. A few years later, Congress codified the Price Waterhouse holding that an improper motive need not be the only motive for a plaintiff to recover. It provided limited remedies, not an absence of liability, in the situation where the employer proves that it would have made the same decision in the absence of the improper motive. Specifically, it allowed for declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and attorneys fees. The ADA incorporates by reference the mixed-motive remedy provisions of Title VII. It was on this basis that the district court fashioned its relief. While the case was on appeal, however, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Gross. In Gross, the Supreme Court held, notwithstanding Price Waterhouse, that mixed-motive claims were not allowed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The Supreme Court concluded that Congress' decision to specifically incorporate the Price Waterhouse approach into Title VII and not to incorporate it into ADEA indicated its intent not to authorize mixed-motive claims under that statute. The "because of" language of the statute therefore required "but for" causation. Like ADEA, the ADA does not include an expressed mixed-motive provision and it uses the same "because of" language. The Court therefore concluded that an ADA plaintiff must establish that the employer would not have fired her absent the improper motive. The special verdict form below indicates that Serwatka failed to do so. The Court vacated and remanded with instructions to enter judgment in Rockwell's favor.
