Three strikes, and you’re out! An example of a losing prima facie case

A recent case from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings cover all Texas employers) illuminates a fundamental tenet of employment law—namely, the prima facie (minimally sufficient) case. And like a successful sports coach will tell you, start with the fundamentals first.

Race discrimination based on lower salary

A Black employee, Angelia Hopson, made $43,027 in her job as a senior counselor for a state agency. She thought that white employees made more money than she did for performing substantially the same work.

The case was tossed because she failed to make out a prima facie race discrimination case—that is, there was no evidence to demonstrate unlawful discrimination.

Put differently, the facts are such that the employer need not be required to explain the reasons it took the now challenged action. There’s simply nothing to explain as we will see in the next section.

Comparator evidence goes poof!

One way to establish a prima facie case is to show that those similarly situated to the employee claiming discrimination were treated better.

Hobson claimed two white employees earned a higher salary than she did. But there was something missing—did they perform the same job as she did? No. The employees had to earn certain certificates and also supervised other employees. Hobson didn’t have the first, nor did she do the second. They made more money because of these two factors. Strike one!