Black Specialty Lubricant QA Manager’s Race Bias Claims Fail

A specialty automotive lubricant manufacturer doesn’t have to face trial on a quality assurance manager’s claims he was fired because he is black, the Eighth Circuit ruled Aug. 9.

Winfred Beasley couldn’t show there was a white employee who wasn’t fired by Warren Unilube Inc. after being cited for similar performance issues, the court said. Beasley needed that comparator evidence to show Warren’s explanation for firing him was pretextual, the court said.

Warren pointed to “roughly three sets of customer complaints” during Beasley’s tenure that it said resulted in his discharge. AutoZone complained four times that Warren products were mislabeled ...