Employment Litigation · Primary-source case analysis

McDonald: Title VII’s Race Protection Applies to Employees of Every Race

By Aneeta Mishra and Timothy Chan

Published August 16, 2026

McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co. arose when two white employees were discharged for misappropriating cargo while a Black employee accused of the same misconduct was retained.

The employees alleged different discipline for the same offense

The plaintiffs challenged the employer’s decision to discharge them while retaining a coworker accused of the same cargo misappropriation. They also alleged that the union failed to represent one plaintiff properly in the grievance process.

Title VII protects any individual from race discrimination

The statute’s text does not reserve protection for members of a particular race. Employment decisions favoring one employee over another because of race can violate Title VII regardless of the plaintiff’s race.

Section 1981 also supported the pleaded unequal-treatment claim

The Court read the right to make and enforce contracts as protecting white persons as well as nonwhite persons against the alleged race-based contractual discrimination.

The pleading dismissal was reversed

The Court did not decide whether the plaintiffs would prove discriminatory motive or whether the employees were similarly situated in all material respects. Those factual and remedial questions remained for later proceedings.

Key takeaways

• Identify comparators who engaged in materially similar conduct.
• Compare decisionmakers, policies, discipline history, and surrounding circumstances.
• Preserve grievance records and the employer’s contemporaneous explanation.
• Analyze Title VII and section 1981 elements, limitations, and remedies separately.