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S
ome employers think they’ve found a silver bullet: delegate the tough call to someone else and—boom—problem solved, liability dodged. But as the Ninth Circuit recently reminded us, an “independent” reviewer isn’t a shield if they’re just channe
ling
someone else’s bias. TL;DR: The Ninth Circuit reinstated a discrimination claim after finding that an “independent” reviewer may have simply rubber-stamped a biased demotion recommendation. The court emphasized that even without overt bias, relying blindly on tainted input—especially after warnings about racial animus—can expose an employer to liability. A jury will now decide whether the so-called neutral decision was just a clea
nup job