The Use of 'Reverse Regression' Employment Discrimination Analyses

Multiple regression is a common technique frequently utilized by economists and statisticians in employment discrimination litigation. This technique is often applied to the issue of discrimination on the basis of some dollar reward such as salary. The traditional regression method asks the question, "For given qualification levels, are minority employees paid less than non-minority employees?" It has also been argued that discrimination exists when minorities are more qualified or more productive than equally paid non-minorities. Therefore, an alternative method of measuring employment discrimination is to consider one of the key independent variables, such as performance, as the dependent variable and to consider salary as an independent variable. The reverse regression methodology answers the question, "For a given salary level, are the protected class employees more qualified or more productive than non-protected employees?" Often, different conclusions regarding the source of discrimination result from the use of reverse regression