US-CA9 · jury_instructions
9th Cir. Model Jury Instr. (Civil) 10.17
Civil Rights—Title VII—Defense—Bona Fide Seniority System
The defendant [name] contends that the treatment of the plaintiff [name] was based on a bona fide seniority system. The defendant [name] has the burden of proving both of the following elements by a preponderance of the evidence:
First, the seniority system had legitimate goals and was not designed to discriminate on the basis of [race] [color] [religion] [sex] [national origin]; and
Second, the seniority system used the employee’s length of service as the primary consideration in selecting the employees who would not be [describe the alleged discriminatory action].
If you find that the plaintiff [name] has proved [his] [her] [other pronoun] claim[s], your verdict should be for the plaintiff [name], unless you find that the defendant [name] has proved this defense, in which event your verdict should be for the defendant [name].
Provenance
- Source
- ce9.uscourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-08-20
- Edition
- 2026-08-20
- Content hash
950893d95308d224b1b86cc4d6a5d0fcf3e0ed83fd98f9a27b9d8f05ece4e296
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