Discrimination Case of Interest
Friday, October 24th, 2014
Plaintiff worked as a “full-fledged carman” for Defendant, Norfolk Southern Railway. During his employment, Defendant issued six job bulletins; three of the bulletins created new carman positions inside the shop, and three of the bulletins eliminated carman positions in the yard. Shortly thereafter, all six bulletins were canceled. Plaintiff had bid on one of the positions inside the shop before the bulletins were withdrawn. The bulletins were eventually reposted but included the additional requirement that applicants possess a commercial driver’s license (CDL). As justification for the new requirement, Defendant argued that it needed a carman with CDL to operate a large truck in case of emergencies. Plaintiff did not apply for the new position because he did not have a CDL.
Plaintiff brought suit alleging that his former employer, Norfolk Southern Railway, discriminated against him based on his race when they removed the job posting and later re-posted the job with an additional requirement that he did not satisfy. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Defendant. The Court ultimately found NSRC had a legitimate business reason for adding the CDL requirement, and therefore, the Plaintiff could not show that it was pretext. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court was affirmed and Plaintiff’s claims were dismissed.
Stephen Lewis, Jr. v. Norfolk Southern Railway Company