The “Same-Actor Inference” Defense

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals applies what it refers to as the “same-actor inference.”

This means that when hiring and firing or promoting and firing occurs within a relatively short time and involves the same decision-maker, the court will infer that no discrimination occurred. Employers will still be expected to prove a nondiscriminatory reason for the decision to discharge.¹

1. Coghlan v. American Seafoods Co., 413 F.3d 1090 (9th Cir. 2005)