Title VII Prima Facie Cases Volume 1

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze and discuss the elements of a Title VII prima facie case. Volume 1 of the casebook covers the District of Columbia Circuit and the First through the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

At the Rule 12(b)(6) stage, our analysis of the Title VII claim is governed by Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002)- and not the evidentiary standard set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under Swierkiewicz, we have explained, "there are two ultimate elements a plaintiff must plead to support a disparate treatment claim under Title VII: (1) an adverse employment action, (2) taken against a plaintiff because of her protected status." Cicalese v. Univ. of Texas Med. Branch, 924 F.3d 762, 767 (5th Cir. 2019) (quotations omitted) (citing Raj v. La. State Univ., 714 F.3d 322, 331 (5th Cir. 2013)).

But "[a]lthough [a plaintiff does] not have to submit evidence to establish a prima facie case of discrimination [under McDonnell Douglas] at this stage, he [must] plead sufficient facts on all of the ultimate elements of a disparate treatment claim to make his case plausible." Chhim v. Univ. of Texas at Austin, 836 F.3d 467, 470 (5th Cir. 2016). And when a plaintiff's Title VII disparate treatment discrimination claim depends on circumstantial evidence, [ ] the plaintiff "will 'ultimately have to show' that he can satisfy the McDonnell Douglas framework." Cicalese, 924 F.3d at 767 (quoting Chhim, 836 F.3d at 470). "In such cases, we have said that it can be 'helpful to reference' that framework when the court is determining whether a plaintiff has plausibly alleged the ultimate elements of the disparate treatment claim." Id. (quoting Chhim, 836 F.3d at 470).

Under McDonnell Douglas, a plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of discrimination. 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817. Specifically, a plaintiff must allege facts sufficient to support a finding "that he was treated less favorably than others outside of his protected class." Alkhawaldeh v. Dow Chem. Co., 851 F.3d 422, 427 (5th Cir. 2017).

Olivarez v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 997 F. 3d 595 (5th Cir. 2021)