A federal appeals court ruled in favor of two former Alaska Airlines flight attendants who said they were fired and denied union support after posting faith-based objections in an employee forum.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Two former Alaska Airlines flight attendants may continue pursuing claims that they were discriminated against after raising religious objections in an employee-only online forum, following a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The court ruled in favor of Lacey Smith and Marli Brown, who say Alaska Airlines wrongfully terminated them in 2021 and that their union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, failed to defend their employment rights because of their Christian beliefs.
The case stems from Alaska Airlines’ internal discussion of a proposed federal law that would open women’s spaces to biological males. Smith and Brown questioned the company’s support for the measure through an employee-only online network, according to complaints filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Alaska Airlines later fired the two flight attendants. The union allegedly refused to defend them against religious discrimination under Title VII and “disparaged” their Christian beliefs during the process.
In its Wednesday opinion, the Ninth Circuit said Brown’s claim raised factual questions that should be considered further, noting that the airline knew some employees might object to the Equality Act on religious grounds.
The judges wrote that Alaska Airlines “was fully aware that some would object to the Equality Act for religious reasons. That Alaska created a forum for employee discussion on controversial issues, then fired Brown after she made religious objections of the kind Alaska anticipated, provides a further reason for regarding this case as presenting a genuine dispute of fact on the reason for Brown’s termination.”
The court also said Smith’s claims could be considered by a jury. The judges found that the airline’s description of Smith’s post may have overstated or mischaracterized what she wrote, particularly because the comments were made in a forum where employees had been invited to discuss differences.
In Smith’s case, the judges said “a reasonable jury could conclude that these descriptions of Smith’s post are overwrought or inaccurate, and thus pretextual, especially given that Smith made her comment in an open employee forum in which Alaska invited employees to explore ‘our differences.’”
First Liberty Institute, which is representing the former flight attendants, welcomed the ruling.
“We are grateful the court recognized the clear evidence of religious discrimination against Marli and Lacey by both Alaska Airlines and the flight attendants’ union,” Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, said in a statement.
The ruling sends the dispute forward, allowing the former flight attendants to continue challenging both Alaska Airlines’ decision to fire them and the union’s alleged handling of their religious discrimination claims.
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