In a civil suit, the standard is "preponderance of evidence". In a he said, she said situation, circumstantial evidence becomes very important. If you've hired

In a civil suit, the standard is "preponderance of evidence". In a he said, she said situation, circumstantial evidence becomes very important. If you've hired a hundred black lesbian octogenarians, and you're sued by a class of 20-something latino hetero males, you better be able to prove your hiring process wasn't discriminatory. Some jurisdictions also shift the burden of proof under some circumstances so it is actually worse for the defendant.