Enterprise Products Worker Fired After Bias Complaint Gets Trial

A jury must determine if Enterprise Products Co. terminated a Black truck driver for poor performance or because he complained about race discrimination, the Fifth Circuit ruled.

Justin Phillips’ claims hinges on whether the gas and oil pipeline company’s firing explanation was pretextual, a unanimous panel said. There’s conflicting evidence, which a lower court wrongly resolved on its own in granting summary judgment for the company, the panel said.

A trial could show Phillips committed the final infractions for which he received the disciplinary points that put him over Enterprise Products’ 100-point threshold, the US Court of Appeals for the ...