Most discrimination claims are proved circumstantially through a burden-shifting framework. It is not a legal test the jury hears; it is a mechanism for sorting cases before trial.

Step one. The employee establishes a prima facie case — membership in a protected class, qualification for the position, an adverse action, and circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination, often that someone outside the class was treated more favorably. The burden here is deliberately light.

Step two. The employer articulates a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason. This is a burden of production only. The employer need not prove the reason was correct or wise, only state it and support it with evidence.

Step three. The employee shows the reason is pretext — that it has no basis in fact, did not actually motivate the decision, or was insufficient to motivate it. Shifting explanations, deviation from policy, comparators treated differently, and temporal proximity are the usual proofs.

Comparators must be similarly situated in the relevant respects: same supervisor, same standards, comparable conduct. Loose comparators are where most prima facie cases fail.

For the employer, the lesson is contemporaneous documentation. The reason given to the agency, in the position statement, months later, will be compared word by word with the reason recorded at the time.