Massachusetts SJC Lightens Plaintiffs' Summary Judgment Burden In Employment Discrimination Cases

Last week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court issued a seminal ruling in Bulwer v. Mt. Auburn, which clarified the type of evidence an employment discrimination plaintiff needs to defeat a summary judgment motion. In doing so, the SJC lightened plaintiffs' burden of proof concerning pre-textual terminations and may have changed the rules of the game for Massachusetts employers and employees alike.

Case Background

Mr. Bulwer, the plaintiff in this case, is a doctor of African descent from Belize. Because he had a medical degree from a foreign medical school, to practice medicine in the United States, he needed to complete a residency in a U.S. hospital. Mt. Auburn Hospital accepted Mr. Bulwer into the hospital's residency program for one year, with the option to complete the residency through two additional years upon successful completion of the first year.