Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge KAVANAUGH.
KAVANAUGH, Circuit Judge:
Seeking to punish and deter sexual harassment, the U.S. House Office of the Sergeant at Arms demoted Brady, a supervisor within the office, because it concluded that Brady grabbed his crotch in front of three employees. Brady sued under federal anti-discrimination laws, contending that he was demoted because of his race. The District Court granted summary judgment to the Sergeant at Arms on the ground that Brady had not made out a prima facie case of racial discrimination. In the alternative, the District Court ruled that Brady failed to present evidence sufficient for a reasonable jury to find that the Sergeant at Arms' stated reason for demoting Brady was not the actual reason and that the Sergeant at Arms intentionally discriminated against Brady on account of his race. We affirm based on that
I
Brady worked as an assistant shift supervisor in House Garages & Parking Security", an entity within the Office of the Sergeant at Arms of the U.S. House of Representatives. In early 2001, two employees — one man and one woman — accused Brady of improper behavior in the workplace. They alleged that Brady grabbed his crotch in front of the two of them and another female employee. After learning of the incident, House Sergeant at Arms Wilson Livingood asked two supervisors to investigate. In the ensuing internal investigation, the two accusers claimed that Brady grabbed his crotch while discussing his need to use the restroom. The other employee who was present initially refused to discuss the incident, saying she did not want to be involved. After being required to give a statement, she said that Brady did not "present any offensive actions towards [her]." Joint Appendix ("J.A.") 214. She explained that Brady had acted "in a very joking manner," but she did not deny that Brady had grabbed his crotch in the way described by the other two employees. Id.
The two investigating supervisors found that the crotch-grabbing incident had likely occurred and that Brady violated the office's sexual harassment policy. One supervisor recommended demoting Brady. The other recommended firing him. Sergeant at Arms Livingood then determined that Brady "might have done it jokingly, but . . . even in a joking manner, it offended two of his employees." Livingood Deposition Transcript (Nov. 10, 2005), J.A. 92. Particularly because Brady was a supervisor, Livingood concluded that "some action needed to be taken." Id. Livingood demoted Brady but did not fire him.
Brady asked Livingood to reconsider his decision. Livingood agreed to do so and hired a Washington, D.C., law firm to investigate. The law firm reviewed documents produced during the original investigation and interviewed 13 current and former employees. The firm concluded that it was "likely that an incident occurred that was most accurately described" by Brady's two initial accusers. Relman Report (June 28, 2001), J.A. 199. After receiving the law firm's report, Livingood affirmed Brady's demotion.
Brady sued, alleging racial discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2, a law that applies to offices in the Legislative Branch as a result of the Congressional Accountability Act, 2 U.S.C. §§ 1302(a), 1311(a). The District Court granted summary judgment to the Office of the Sergeant at Arms, finding that Brady failed to make out a prima facie case of racial discrimination because he could not show that a similarly situated employee outside his racial group was treated differently. Brady v. Livingood, 456 F.Supp.2d 1, 7-8 (D.D.C.2006). In the alternative, the District Court stated that "even if plaintiff were able to establish a prima facie case of discrimination, defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment would still be granted because defendant's personnel actions were in fact undertaken for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons." Id. at 9 n. 9.
Brady appeals; our review of the summary judgment is de novo.
II
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes it unlawful for an employer to "fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). This statutory text establishes two elements for an employment discrimination case: (i) the plaintiff suffered an adverse employment action (ii) because of the employee's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The District Court concluded that Brady had not made out a "prima facie case" under McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973).
But judicial inquiry into the prima facie case is usually misplaced. In the years since McDonnell Douglas, the Supreme Court's decisions have clarified that the question whether the employee made out a prima facie case is almost always irrelevant. At the motion to dismiss stage, the district court cannot throw out a complaint even if the plaintiff did not plead the elements of a prima facie case. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 510-11, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002). And by the time the district court considers an employer's motion for summary judgment or judgment as a matter of law, the employer ordinarily will have asserted a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the challenged decision — for example, through a declaration, deposition, or other testimony from the employer's decision-maker. That's important because once the employer asserts a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason, the question whether the employee actually made out a prima facie case is "no longer relevant" and thus "disappear[s]" and "drops out of the picture." St. Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 510, 511, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d
Much ink has been spilled regarding the proper contours of the prima-facie-case aspect of McDonnell Douglas. But as we read the Supreme Court precedents beginning with Aikens, the prima facie case is a largely unnecessary sideshow. It has not benefited employees or employers; nor has it simplified or expedited court proceedings. In fact, it has done exactly the opposite, spawning enormous confusion and wasting litigant and judicial resources.
Lest there be any lingering uncertainty, we state the rule clearly: In a Title VII disparate-treatment suit where an employee has suffered an adverse employment action and an employer has asserted a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the decision, the district court need not — and should not — decide whether the plaintiff actually made out a prima facie case under McDonnell Douglas. Rather, in considering an employer's motion for summary judgment or judgment as a matter of law in those circumstances, the district court must resolve one central question: Has the employee produced sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that the employer's asserted non-discriminatory reason was not the actual reason and that the employer intentionally discriminated against the employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin? See Hicks, 509 U.S. at 507-08, 511, 113 S.Ct. 2742; Aikens, 460 U.S. at 714-16, 103 S.Ct. 1478.
III
In this case, the employer Sergeant at Arms asserted a legitimate, non-discriminatory
The employer produced deposition testimony from its decisionmaker Livingood that Brady was demoted because he grabbed his crotch in front of three other employees. The employer submitted additional supporting evidence: that two employees saw and complained about the incident; that the initially reluctant third witness did not deny that Brady had grabbed his crotch; that the incident was thoroughly and independently investigated; and that Brady's actions violated the office's sexual harassment policy.
A plaintiff such as Brady may try in multiple ways to show that the employer's stated reason for the employment action was not the actual reason (in other words, was a pretext). Often, the employee attempts to produce evidence suggesting that the employer treated other employees of a different race, color, religion, sex, or national origin more favorably in the same factual circumstances. See 1 LEX K. LARSON, EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION § 8.04, at 8-66 (2d ed. 2007) ("Probably the most commonly employed method of demonstrating that an employer's explanation is pretextual is to show that similarly situated persons of a different race or sex received more favorable treatment."); 1 BARBARA LINDEMANN & PAUL GROSSMAN, EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION LAW 73 (4th ed. 2007) ("In most cases the key to proving pretext is comparative evidence."). Alternatively, the employee may attempt to demonstrate that the employer is making up or lying about the underlying facts that formed the predicate for the employment decision. If the employer's stated belief about the underlying facts is reasonable in light of the evidence, however, there ordinarily is no basis for permitting a jury to conclude that the employer is lying about the underlying facts. See George v. Leavitt, 407 F.3d 405, 415 (D.C.Cir.2005) ("[A]n employer's action may be justified by a reasonable belief in the validity of the reason given even though that reason may turn out to be false."); Fischbach v. D.C. Dep't of Corr., 86 F.3d 1180, 1183 (D.C.Cir. 1996) (employer prevails if it "honestly believes in the reasons it offers"); 1 LARSON § 8.04, at 8-73 ("[A]n employer's action may be based on a good faith belief, even though the reason may turn out in retrospect to be mistaken or false.").
Brady's only argument for discrediting the employer's asserted non-discriminatory
Allowing Brady to end-run summary judgment in these circumstances would create significant practical problems. Employers obviously have to resolve factual disagreements all the time in order to make employment decisions regarding hiring, promotion, discipline, demotion, firing, and the like. In many situations, employers must decide disputes based on credibility assessments, circumstantial evidence, and incomplete information. But Brady's argument would mean that every employee who is disciplined, demoted, or fired for alleged misconduct could sue for employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin and — merely by denying the underlying allegation of misconduct — automatically obtain a jury trial. Brady cites no support for that proposition, which would wreak havoc on district courts' orderly resolution of employment discrimination cases and improperly put employers in a damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't posture when addressing disciplinary issues in the workplace.
Brady also implies that the Office of the Sergeant at Arms overreacted and adopted a hair-trigger approach to the reported incident. But many employers today aggressively react to sexual harassment allegations; an employer does not engage in discrimination on the basis of race by strictly and uniformly enforcing a policy against any remote hint or suggestion of sexual harassment in the workplace. It is not the Judiciary's place to micro-manage an employer's sexual harassment policies when resolving a claim of racial discrimination. As the Supreme Court has stated, "[c]ourts are generally less competent than employers to restructure business practices, and unless mandated to do so by Congress they should not attempt it." Furnco Constr. Corp. v. Waters, 438 U.S. 567, 578, 98 S.Ct. 2943, 57 L.Ed.2d 957 (1978).
In sum, the Office of the Sergeant at Arms produced evidence of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for Brady's demotion: that Brady engaged in sexual
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We affirm the judgment of the District Court granting summary judgment to the Office of the Sergeant at Arms.
So ordered.
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