Opinion ID: 4558787
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act

Text: The ELCRA provides, in relevant part, that an employer shall not “[f]ail or refuse to hire or recruit, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against an individual with respect to employment, compensation, or a term, condition, or privilege of employment, because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, or marital status.” Mich. Comp. Laws § 37.2202(1)(a). Lowe claims that Walbro violated the ELCRA by firing him on the basis of his age. Proof of discriminatory treatment under the ELCRA “may be established by direct evidence or by indirect or circumstantial evidence.” Sniecinski v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mich., 666 N.W.2d 186, 192 (Mich. 2003). Lowe argues that he presented sufficient evidence to avoid summary judgment under either theory. Because we conclude that Lowe’s direct-evidence argument has merit, we need not address his second one. “In cases involving direct evidence of discrimination, a plaintiff may prove unlawful discrimination in the same manner as a plaintiff would prove any other civil case.” Id. The Michigan Supreme Court has adopted this court’s definition of “direct evidence” in this context as “evidence which, if believed, requires the conclusion that unlawful discrimination was at least a motivating factor in the employer’s actions.” Hazle v. Ford Motor Co., 628 N.W.2d 515, 520 (Mich. 2001) (quoting Jacklyn v. Schering-Plough Healthcare Prods. Sales Corp., 176 F.3d 921, 926 (6th Cir. 1999)). No. 19-2386 Lowe v. Walbro LLC Page 6 In a direct-evidence case involving mixed motives—that is, where “the adverse employment decision could have been based on both legitimate and legally impermissible reasons”—a plaintiff “must prove that the defendant’s discriminatory animus was more likely than not a ‘substantial’ or ‘motivating’ factor in the decision.” Sniecinski, 666 N.W.2d at 192– 93 (citing Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 244 (1989) (plurality)). Put slightly differently, the plaintiff must show that “the defendant was predisposed to discriminating against members of the plaintiff’s protected class” and that “the defendant actually acted on that predisposition in visiting the adverse employment action on the plaintiff.” Wilcoxon v. Minn. Mining & Mfg. Co., 597 N.W.2d 250, 257 (Mich. Ct. App. 1999). Once a plaintiff meets the initial burden of proving that the illegal conduct “was more likely than not a substantial or motivating factor in the defendant’s decision, a defendant has the opportunity to show by a preponderance of the evidence that it would have reached the same decision without consideration of the protected status.” Downey v. Charlevoix Cnty. Bd. of Rd. Comm’rs, 576 N.W.2d 712, 718 (Mich. Ct. App. 1998). We note that, in some cases, the Michigan Supreme Court has imposed a more stringent standard of causation, requiring ELCRA plaintiffs to show that there was “but for causation or causation in fact” rather than simply showing that the animus was a substantial or motivating factor. Hecht v. Nat’l Heritage Academies, Inc., 886 N.W.2d 135, 146 (Mich. 2016) (quoting Matras v. Amoco Oil Co., 385 N.W.2d 586, 589 (Mich. 1986)) (internal quotation marks omitted). The Michigan courts have noted this discrepancy, but they do not appear to have definitively resolved it. See Hrapkiewicz v. Wayne State Univ. Bd. of Governors, 910 N.W.2d 654, 654 (Mich. 2018) (Markman, C.J., dissenting from the denial of leave to appeal) (“These interpretations of the [ELCRA] are inconsistent, as Hecht imposes a considerably higher causation standard than Hazle.”). In the present case, both parties have briefed the issue along the lines of the Hazle and Sniecinski standard; neither side has cited Hecht or otherwise suggested that but-for causation is required. We will thus follow the same approach in this Opinion. In any event, we would conclude that Lowe has raised a genuine dispute of material fact under either standard, so the difference is immaterial for our purposes. No. 19-2386 Lowe v. Walbro LLC Page 7