516
Opinion of the Court
proving or demonstrating simply "pretext," e. g., id., at 258, are reasonably understood to refer to the previously described pretext, i. e., "pretext for discrimination." 6
Burdine also says that when the employer has met its burden of production "the factual inquiry proceeds to a new level of specificity." Id., at 255. The dissent takes this to mean that the factual inquiry reduces to whether the employer's asserted reason is true or false—if false, the defendant loses. But the "new level of specificity" may also (as we believe) refer to the fact that the inquiry now turns from the few generalized factors that establish a prima facie case to the specific proofs and rebuttals of discriminatory motivation the parties have introduced.
In the next sentence, Burdine says that "[p]lacing this burden of production on the defendant thus serves . . . to frame the factual issue with sufficient clarity so that the plaintiff will have a full and fair opportunity to demonstrate pretext." Id., at 255-256. The dissent thinks this means that the only factual issue remaining in the case is whether the employer's reason is false. But since in our view "pretext" means "pretext for discrimination," we think the sentence must be understood as addressing the form rather than the substance of the defendant's production burden: The requirement that the employer "clearly set forth" its reasons, id., at 255, gives the plaintiff a "full and fair" rebuttal opportunity.
A few sentences later, Burdine says: "[The plaintiff] now must have the opportunity to demonstrate that the proffered reason was not the true reason for the employment decision. This burden now merges with the ultimate burden of persuading the court that she has been the victim of inten-6 The same is true of McDonnell Douglas's concluding summary of the framework it created (relied upon by the dissent, post, at 530) to the effect that if the plaintiff fails to show "pretext," the challenged employment action "must stand." 411 U. S., at 807. There, as in Burdine, "pretext" means the pretext required earlier in the opinion, viz., "pretext for the sort of discrimination prohibited by [Title VII]," 411 U. S., at 804.
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