Canadian Pacific Denied Arbitration, Must Face Race Bias Claims

A Black former Canadian Pacific Railway engineer suing the company for race discrimination and retaliation won’t have to arbitrate his claims, an Illinois federal court said.

The Railway Labor Act requiring mandatory arbitration doesn’t preclude Keith Coleman’s case because his claims derive from federal law rather than any rights under Canadian Pacific’s collective bargaining agreement, the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois ruled Tuesday. It also denied the railway’s motion to dismiss, holding Coleman presented sufficient allegations.

Coleman testified in an unnamed federal employment case about discrimination and retaliation by Canadian Pacific in 2017, according to the ...