Ameer Siddiqui v. NetJets Aviation, Inc.

Are plaintiffs who bring retaliation claims under either Title VII or Section 1981 subjected to the strenuous “but for” test, or is a reasonable inference sufficient to proceed past summary judgment? And, are the standards different under each of these statutes?1

Must employees identify comparators who have “exact correlation” or are “nearly identical” to the plaintiff, under either Title VII or Section 1981, as required by the Eleventh Circuit, or is the definition more “flexible” as in the Seventh Circuit? Or, is it something completely different, as tried by other circuits?

Do employees bear the burden of definitively showing discrimination in order to establish pretext under either Title VII or Section 1981, or is a reasonable inference of discrimination sufficient to survive summary judgment?

Must courts evaluate each act of retaliation raised by plaintiffs under Title VII and/or Section 1981 to consider whether they are related to the action at issue, therefore creating a genuine issue of material

Petitioner is aware of the pending consideration by this Court of Comcast Corp. v. Nat’l Assoc. of African Am.-Owned Media, No. 18-1171, regarding the applicability of the “but for” standard to claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Petitioner respectfully requests the right, as applicable, to supplement any relevant briefing regarding the application of any ruling by this Court in the Comcast Corp. case to Petitioner’s claims under Section 1981 in this matter.