Cite as: 546 U. S. ____ (2006) 1
Per Curiam
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
ANTHONY ASH ET AL. v. TYSON FOODS, INC.
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED
STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
No. 05–379. Decided February 21, 2006
PER CURIAM.
Petitioners Anthony Ash and John Hithon were superin-
tendents at a poultry plant owned and operated by re-
spondent Tyson Foods, Inc. Petitioners, who are African-
American, sought promotions to fill two open shift
manager positions, but two white males were selected
instead. Alleging that Tyson had discriminated on ac-
count of race, petitioners sued under Rev. Stat. §1977, 42
U. S. C. §1981, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, 78 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U. S. C. §2000e et seq.
A trial proceeded in the United States District Court for
the Northern District of Alabama. At the close of the
plaintiffs’ evidence, Tyson moved for judgment as a matter
of law, see Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 50(a). The District Court
denied the motion, and the jury found for petitioners,
awarding compensatory and punitive damages. The em-
ployer renewed its motion for judgment under Rule 50(b).
The District Court granted the motion and, in the alterna-
tive, ordered a new trial as to both plaintiffs under Rule
50(c). App. to Pet. for Cert. 35a; see generally Unitherm
Food Systems, Inc. v. Swift-Eckrich, Inc., 546 U. S. ___, ___
(2006) (slip op., at 4–11) (discussing Rule 50).
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh
Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part. 129 Fed.
Appx. 529, 536 (2005) (per curiam). As to Ash, the court
affirmed the grant of the Rule 50(b) motion, deeming the
trial evidence insufficient to show pretext (and thus insuf-
ficient to show unlawful discrimination) under the burden-
shifting framework set forth in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v.
2 ASH v. TYSON FOODS, INC.
Per Curiam
Green, 411 U. S. 792 (1973). 129 Fed. Appx., at 533–534.
As to Hithon, the court reversed the Rule 50(b) ruling,
finding there was enough evidence to go to the jury. The
court, however, affirmed the District Court’s alternative
remedy of a new trial under Rule 50(c), holding that the
evidence supported neither the decision to grant punitive
damages nor the amount of the compensatory award, and
thus that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in
ordering a new trial. Id., at 536.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals, and the trial court
rulings it affirmed, may be correct in the final analysis. In
the course of its opinion, however, the Court of Appeals
erred in two respects, requiring that its judgment now be
vacated and the case remanded for further consideration.
First, there was evidence that Tyson’s plant manager,
who made the disputed hiring decisions, had referred on
some occasions to each of the petitioners as “boy.” Peti-
tioners argued this was evidence of discriminatory ani-
mus. The Court of Appeals disagreed, holding that
“[w]hile the use of ‘boy’ when modified by a racial classifi-
cation like ‘black’ or ‘white’ is evidence of discriminatory
intent, the use of ‘boy’ alone is not evidence of discrimina-
tion.” Id., at 533 (citation omitted). Although it is true
the disputed word will not always be evidence of racial
animus, it does not follow that the term, standing alone, is
always benign. The speaker’s meaning may depend on
various factors including context, inflection, tone of voice,
local custom, and historical usage. Insofar as the Court of
Appeals held that modifiers or qualifications are necessary
in all instances to render the disputed term probative of
bias, the court’s decision is erroneous.
Second, the Court of Appeals erred in articulating the
standard for determining whether the asserted non-
discriminatory reasons for Tyson’s hiring decisions were
pretextual. Petitioners had introduced evidence that their
qualifications were superior to those of the two successful
Cite as: 546 U. S. ____ (2006) 3
Per Curiam
applicants. (Part of the employer’s defense was that the
plant with the openings had performance problems and
petitioners already worked there in a supervisory capac-
ity.) The Court of Appeals, in finding petitioners’ evidence
insufficient, cited one of its earlier precedents and stated:
“Pretext can be established through comparing qualifica-
tions only when ‘the disparity in qualifications is so ap-
parent as virtually to jump off the page and slap you in
the face.’ ” Ibid. (quoting Cooper v. Southern Co., 390 F. 3d
695, 732 (CA11 2004)).
Under this Court’s decisions, qualifications evidence
may suffice, at least in some circumstances, to show pre-
text. See Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U. S.
164, 187–188 (1989) (indicating a plaintiff “might seek to
demonstrate that respondent’s claim to have promoted a
better qualified applicant was pretextual by showing that
she was in fact better qualified than the person chosen for
the position”), superseded on other grounds by 42 U. S. C.
§1981(b); Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine,
450 U. S. 248, 259 (1981) (“The fact that a court may think
that the employer misjudged the qualifications of the
applicants does not in itself expose him to Title VII liabil-
ity, although this may be probative of whether the em-
ployer’s reasons are pretexts for discrimination”); cf.
Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Products, Inc., 530 U. S.
133, 148 (2000) (“[A] plaintiff’s prima facie case, combined
with sufficient evidence to find that the employer’s as-
serted justification is false, may permit the trier of fact to
conclude that the employer unlawfully discriminated”).
The visual image of words jumping off the page to slap
you (presumably a court) in the face is unhelpful and
imprecise as an elaboration of the standard for inferring
pretext from superior qualifications. Federal courts,
including the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in
a decision it cited here, have articulated various other
standards, see, e.g., Cooper, supra, at 732 (noting that
4 ASH v. TYSON FOODS, INC.
Per Curiam
“disparities in qualifications must be of such weight and
significance that no reasonable person, in the exercise of
impartial judgment, could have chosen the candidate
selected over the plaintiff for the job in question” (internal
quotation marks omitted)); Raad v. Fairbanks North Star
Borough School Dist., 323 F. 3d 1185, 1194 (CA9 2003)
(holding that qualifications evidence standing alone may
establish pretext where the plaintiff’s qualifications are
“ ‘clearly superior’ ” to those of the selected job applicant);
Aka v. Washington Hospital Center, 156 F. 3d 1284, 1294
(CADC 1998) (en banc) (concluding the factfinder may
infer pretext if “a reasonable employer would have found
the plaintiff to be significantly better qualified for the
job”), and in this case the Court of Appeals qualified its
statement by suggesting that superior qualifications may
be probative of pretext when combined with other evi-
dence, see 129 Fed. Appx., at 533. This is not the occasion
to define more precisely what standard should govern
pretext claims based on superior qualifications. Today’s
decision, furthermore, should not be read to hold that
petitioners’ evidence necessarily showed pretext. The
District Court concluded otherwise. It suffices to say here
that some formulation other than the test the Court of
Appeals articulated in this case would better ensure that
trial courts reach consistent results.
The Court of Appeals should determine in the first
instance whether the two aspects of its decision here
determined to have been mistaken were essential to its
holding. On these premises, certiorari is granted, the
judgment of the Court of Appeals is vacated, and the case
is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this
opinion.
It is so ordered.