Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

Reeves: Disbelief of the Employer’s Explanation Can Support a Discrimination Verdict

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published April 29, 2026

Reeves clarifies the evidentiary force of pretext at the final stage of the McDonnell Douglas framework.

A longtime supervisor disputed the stated performance reason

Roger Reeves was fired after alleged recordkeeping failures. He offered evidence that the records were accurate, another manager controlled relevant decisions, and the decisionmaker had made age-related remarks.

The prima facie case does not disappear

Once the employer offers a legitimate reason, the burden of production shifts but the evidence supporting the prima facie case remains available to the factfinder.

Pretext can support the ultimate inference

Proof that the explanation is unworthy of credence may combine with the prima facie evidence to establish intentional discrimination. No rigid pretext-plus rule requires separate additional evidence in every case.

Disposition

The Court reversed judgment as a matter of law for the employer and reinstated the jury’s role, while recognizing that some records may still make a discrimination inference unreasonable.

Key takeaways

• Preserve the evidence supporting the prima facie case.
• Test each stated reason against contemporaneous records.
• Use credibility and inconsistency evidence cumulatively.
• Evaluate the whole record rather than imposing a pretext-plus rule.