Uber’s lawyer “asked Ms. Doe exactly how much Tito’s vodka she had drunk, how many milligrams of Adderall she had taken and whether she had “felt regret” about mixing the two. And she asked Ms. Doe what she had been wearing. “Can you describe the dress? …Were you wearing heels or boots or flats?”
Uber’s Strategy for Fighting Sexual Assault Suits: ‘What Were You Wearing?’
The ride-hailing giant promised to handle legal claims “in a way that is best for the survivor.” Its lawyers are pursuing a far more aggressive strategy.
nytimes.com
![No reasonable jury could conclude that Spengler’s race caused her demotion. Starting with but-for causation, Spengler admits that the defendants would have likely removed a black employee from the same role if the employee refused to agree with DPI on matters of race. And turning to the motivating-factor test, Spengler presents no evidence that her race “was one of the reasons that the employer took adverse action against her.” Hossack v. Floor Covering Assocs. of Joliet, Inc., 492 F.3d 853, 860 (7th Cir. 2007). She even acknowledges that all of the coaches on her project were white and that CESA 7 ultimately replaced her with a white woman to complete her duties with DPI. Spengler responds by doubling down on but-for causation. She contends that the defendants’ ideological demands asked more of white employees than employees of color. In her view, DPI taught that “the natural state of White people— unlike people of color—is to be racists.” On this view, the defendants demoted Spengler because she, as a white person, was unwilling to agree that she was born racist, while they would have allowed an employee of color to deny that they were born racist. See Bostock, 590 U.S. at 656 (“[A] but-for test directs us to change one thing at a time and see if the outcome changes. If it does, we have found a but-for cause.”). But Spengler offers no evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that the defendants compelled her to embrace this view.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:24vva42nxim6zbcmnozegoef/bafkreig7rccf4a64qq77vwf2abqkvs7xkxq3cnzr6ity4tg4viafwqp3sq)
