By Amy Traub and Saima Sheikh ( August 15, 2017, 11:26 AM EDT) -- On July 19, 2017, in Cassandra Woods v. START Treatment & Recovery Centers, the Second Circuit joined the Third[1] and Seventh[2] Circuits in applying a lower causation standard to determine whether employers have retaliated against employees for exercising their rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act.[3] Now, in the Second Circuit, covering Connecticut, New York and Vermont, under a less-burdensome "motivating-factor" or "mixed-motive" standard, individuals need only prove that the adverse employment action of which they complain was motivated in part by the exercise of their FMLA rights, rather than the determining factor under the more onerous "but-for" causation standard. The likely result of this decision is an increase in the number of FMLA retaliation claims surviving summary judgment and proceeding to trial in the Second Circuit....