Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
839 F.2d 302 (7th Cir. 1988)
The EEOC (plaintiff) sued Sears (defendant) alleging systemic gender discrimination in hiring for higher-paying, commission-based sales jobs, relying entirely on statistical disparities showing more men in commission roles; Sears rebutted with non-statistical testimonial and expert evidence, surveys, and labor-market data showing women's relatively lower general interest in and qualifications for those specific jobs, and the district court, finding this rebuttal persuasive and the EEOC's statistical methodology flawed, ruled for Sears.
Whether statistical evidence is the only means by which an employer may rebut a plaintiff's statistical evidence of systemic disparate treatment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.