Summary
- US appeals court suspends religious liberty training requirement for Southwest lawyers.
- The ruling was deemed likely invalid as it didn’t benefit former flight attendant, Charlene Carter.
- Typically, anti-discrimination training is a punitive measure, not a penalty for attorneys.
A United States appeals court stated that a federal judge likely exceeded his authority by ordering three attorneys from Southwest Airlines to undergo religious liberty training from a conservative Christian legal group.
The news follows a discrimination lawsuit won by a former Southwest Airlines flight attendant, which mandated three of the carrier’s lawyers to undergo “religious liberty training.”
In response, Southwest Airlines appealed the decision and returned to federal court seeking to reverse an $800,000 award granted to Charlene Carter, the airline’s former flight attendant. Carter alleged she was terminated due to her anti-abortion beliefs and initiated legal action against Southwest Airlines and her union in 2017.
“The ruling was likely invalid”
According to a report from Reuters, a three-judge panel at the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans has suspended the training requirement while appeals are underway. The report indicated that the 2023 ruling was likely invalid as it did not offer any additional advantage to the plaintiff, the airline’s former flight attendant, Charlene Carter.
Photo: Denver International Airport
The court usually mandates anti-discrimination training as part of punitive measures and not as a penalty for attorneys who were not involved in the alleged misconduct underlying the case.
Southwest Airlines said in a statement to Reuters that they “look forward to receiving a final decision on all of the issues involved in our appeal.”
Related
Southwest Airlines To Appeal Judge’s Ruling On Religious Freedom Training
The ruling came after Southwest did not follow the judge’s previous orders.
More background
Charlene Carter, a former flight attendant, was dismissed after voicing objections to the union’s protest against the inauguration of former United States President Donald Trump. Additionally, Carter expressed her stance on abortion and shared a video of an aborted fetus with the union’s president. Following Carter’s termination by Southwest, she initiated legal action, resulting in a judge ordering her reinstatement to her former position.
Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock
In July 2022, a jury decided Southwest was in the wrong for terminating Carter’s employment and called not only for Carter to be reinstated but that she be paid $4.15 million in back pay, pain, suffering, and additional costs. The union was also told to pay $1.15 million. The judge reduced the penalty to $810,180, including $150,000 in back pay.
The judge overseeing the case instructed Southwest to inform its employees about their rights regarding religious discrimination, a directive the airline failed to comply with. Instead of adhering to the judge’s order, Southwest circulated a memo among its staff detailing the reasons behind Carter’s termination. Consequently, three lawyers have been directed to undergo religious liberty training with Alliance Defending Freedom due to Southwest’s non-compliance with the court’s ruling.
Southwest also argued there was no need for any religious freedom training and that it did comply with the judge’s order. The airline added it could provide a corrective notice to its last communication with the staff.
What are your thoughts on this court ruling? Let us know in the comment section below.