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In a case with massive implications for civil rights on the job, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will decide whether businesses can refuse to hire job applicants who will not sign away their right to bring employment-related discrimination cases to court. The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals forced to sign such agreements as a condition of employment are barred from bringing age discrimination cases against their employers, and every Circuit but the Ninth has concurred in race, religion, and sex discrimination cases. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the plaintiff in the case have taken the position that while such agreements are binding once signed, refusal to hire a person for not signing an agreement is illegal retaliation against protected exercise of civil rights.