Law360, New York ( March 11, 2015, 2:01 PM EDT) -- The Fourth Circuit slapped down the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's claim of disparate impact discrimination in EEOC v. Freeman involving an employer's use of criminal background and credit checks. In a strongly worded opinion, the court affirmed a trial court's decision granting summary judgment to the employer because of the EEOC's failure to produce reliable statistical evidence showing a prima facie case of discrimination against job applicants. While some press reports have misapprehended the scope of the court's opinion, Freeman is a serious setback for the EEOC's approach to litigating many background check cases. The decision may also help employers defeat other employment law class actions based on disparate impact theory....