Seyfarth Synopsis: The Minnesota Supreme Court found that a job applicant need only prove that the employee's interest in a 12-week maternity leave was the "substantial causative factor" that "actually motivated" the employer's decision to rescind her job offer and did not need to show anger or hostility about pregnancy under the Minnesota Human Rights Act.
In a recent Minnesota Supreme Court case, LaPoint v Family Orthodontics, P.A., A15-0396 (Apr. 5, 2017), a plaintiff challenged an orthodontist's decision to rescind her job offer after learning she was pregnant and would take maternity leave. The plaintiff argued that she had been discriminated against on the basis of her pregnancy because her pregnancy played a role in the employer's decision to rescind her job offer. The district court ruled for the employer at a bench trial!
In setting the standard of proof, the Court relied on Goins v. West Grp., 635 N.W.2d 717 (Minn. 2001) and Anderson v. Hunter, Keith, Marshall & Co., 417 N.W.2d 619 (Minn. 1988). Goins required that a plaintiff prove that the pregnancy "actually motivated" the employer's decision not to hire. Anderson required that plaintiff demonstrate that the pregnancy was "a substantial causative factor" in the employment decision.
The Court rejected the notion that the pregnancy must be a "but-for" cause of the employer's conduct. As such, the plaintiff need not prove that the employer would have hired her absent unlawful discrimination in order to establish liability, and "proof by the employer that it would have made the same decision absent a discriminatory motive is no defense."
According to the Court, the employer stated, on three separate occasions, that the plaintiff's failure to disclose her pregnancy (1) was one of the "two things [that] really kept [her] from sleeping well"; (2) was one of her "concerns"; and (3) left her "confused," one of "two concerns" that together constituted "[t]he reason why [she] withdrew the job offer." Further, the plaintiff argued that "rescinding a job offer because a person fails to disclose a pregnancy is illegitimate discrimination on the basis of sex." More so, the district court found that the defendant "questioned why plaintiff did not bring [her pregnancy] up initially so they could discuss leave of absence issues at that time," but that "[h]er concern was the [effect of the] length of the leave sought by plaintiff on the practice."
The Court recited that the defendant "did not demonstrate any animus toward plaintiff because of her pregnancy. Her overriding concern was the disruption a twelve week maternity leave would have on her practice and the impact upon her employees should she deviate from the Clinic's longstanding policy of six weeks."
Finally, the Court concluded that it was unable to determine whether the district court, if it had applied the correct law regarding animus, would have made the same findings of fact. Accordingly, the Supreme Court remanded the case.
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