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The Third Circuit has upheld U.S. Steel's victory in a lawsuit filed by Kenneth Moses, a Black former train operator who claimed he was wrongly terminated after being blamed for a 2015 derailment. The unanimous decision, issued Friday, upheld the summary judgment in favor of U.S. Steel, dismissing Moses' racial discrimination claims under Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.

Moses argued that he was wrongfully blamed for the derailment, which he contended was caused by faulty equipment and improperly marked rail tracks. Despite his claims, the appeals panel found that U.S. Steel's explanation for his termination had been consistent and clear, affirming that Moses' lengthy disciplinary record, rather than race, was the reason for his dismissal. The panel emphasized that Moses failed to show any contradictions or weaknesses in U.S. Steel's termination decision, citing a previous ruling in Fuentes v. Perskie that requires evidence of "weaknesses, implausibilities, inconsistencies, incoherencies, or contradictions" to support claims of discrimination.

Additionally, the appeals panel rejected Moses' "cat's paw" theory of discrimination. He had argued that two supervisors, motivated by racial bias, reported safety violations that led to his termination under a last-chance agreement. The court found that the connection between Moses' firing and the supervisors' reports was too weak to establish racial discrimination as the cause of his termination.

Moses' lawsuit alleged a pattern of racial bias at U.S. Steel, claiming that his clean disciplinary record was marred by incidents involving white supervisors making derogatory comments about Black people and unfairly disciplining him. Despite this, the court noted that Moses had been under a last-chance agreement at the time of the derailment, with a third-party analysis confirming that the equipment was functioning properly.

U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman IV had previously dismissed the suit in August 2023, citing Moses' failure to present evidence of racial discrimination. Moses, who worked for U.S. Steel from 2005 until his termination in 2015, had argued that he was unjustly blamed for the derailment, despite following safety protocols.

The case is Moses v. United States Steel Corp., case number 23-2605, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.