Reference no: EM131040999

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin in hiring firing, job assignments, pay, access to training and apprenticeship programs, and most other employment decisions. The Court refers to the Supreme Court’s precedent case McDonnell Douglas Corp v. Green for the framework to establish indirect evidence of discrimination. Gaskell contends that he has provided direct evidence of discrimination through the Search Committee’s emails citing his religious beliefs as a deciding factor with the depositions of various committee members and professors echoing the same religious discrimination causing their refusal to hire him. With direct evidence proven, the Court denied the UK’s motion for summary judgement. In turn, the UK provided evidence that religion was not a motivating factor in its decision to not hire Gaskell. The Search Committee used Gaskell’s 1997 public lecture that addressed his viewpoint on the scientific problems with the theory of evolution and his webpage’s lecture notes. The UK argued that they were considering his public statements, not his religion, which may impair his performance to serve effectively as Observatory Director. Gaskell’s motion for partial summary judgement will be denied.