411 U.S. 792 (1973) Cited 53,268 times 96 Legal Analyses
Holding in employment discrimination case that statistical evidence of employer's general policy and practice may be relevant circumstantial evidence of discriminatory intent behind individual employment decision
450 U.S. 248 (1981) Cited 20,216 times 9 Legal Analyses
Holding in the Title VII context that the plaintiff's prima facie case creates "a legally mandatory, rebuttable presumption" that shifts the burden of proof to the employer, and "if the employer is silent in the face of the presumption, the court must enter judgment for the plaintiff"
Holding that, in balancing the scope of reasonable opposition conduct, "[t]he requirements of the job and the tolerable limits of conduct in a particular setting must be explored"
Finding evidence of apparent favoritism insufficient to establish race or sex discrimination under Title VII where plaintiff did not offer "a scintilla of evidence which tended to show that her color or her sex — as opposed, say, to some informal preferment of veterans or garden-variety cronyism" was basis for employment decision