Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Con-Way Freight, Inc.

**The Dispute** The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Con-Way Freight on behalf of a job applicant who claimed the company refused to hire him because of his race. The applicant had a criminal conviction for theft, and Con-Way had a policy of automatically rejecting anyone with theft-related convictions. **The Court's Decision** The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Con-Way Freight. The court found that even if racial discrimination played a role in the company's decision, the applicant still wouldn't have been hired anyway because of Con-Way's automatic disqualification policy for people with theft convictions. Since the same outcome would have occurred regardless of any discriminatory motive, the discrimination claim failed. **What This Means for Workers** This ruling shows how difficult it can be to win discrimination cases when employers have seemingly neutral policies that would have led to the same result. Workers should know that having a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for an employment decision can protect employers even when discrimination may have been a factor. However, employers still cannot use neutral policies as a cover for intentional discrimination.