Following the Supreme Court’s March decision in Staub v . Proctor Hospital validating the cat’s paw theory of discrimination, employment lawyers have been watching for the circuits to define guidelines for defense of such a claim.

The cat’s paw theory contends that an employee has a valid discrimination claim, even if the person who makes the negative employment decision is not biased, if the decision maker is influenced by someone else who is biased (see “Singed Paws”).