Losing after going all the way to the Supreme Court and winning there; what a bummer for Raytheon
A few months back, the Supreme Court remanded to the Ninth Circuit the case in which Raytheon refused to rehire a former employee terminated for failing a drug test. [link to Supreme Court opinion on Findlaw]
A victory for the employer, but the holding was rather narrow, focusing on the Ninth Circuit’s procedurally improper reliance on a disparate impact-type of analysis, rather than disparate treatment.
Now on remand the Ninth Circuit holds that there was sufficient evidence of disability discrimination under a disparate treatment theory. Turns out the employer had changed its story from what it said in its EEOC position statement. Not good.
Remember, those agency filings can come back to bite you. Get it right during the agency investigation. No shortcuts. Use a lawyer or well-educated HR specialist to respond to all discrimination charges.
My fellow employment blogger Michael Fox has a good post here saying most of what I wanted to say on this.
