Summary
- Southwest Airlines continues to battle in court over the termination of a flight attendant due to her abortion views.
- The airline maintains the firing was due to rule violations involving hostile anti-abortion messages to coworkers.
- The legal case surrounding the termination has been ongoing since 2017.
Southwest Airlines returned to court because of a legal case about a flight attendant’s termination over her abortion views. The last time the airline and the defendant were in court, a judge ordered the airline to reinstate the flight attendant and compensate her for her losses.
The case continues
Southwest Airlines has been dealing with the repercussions of Charlene Carter’s 2017 termination for several years. Following her termination, Carter filed a lawsuit against Southwest, claiming she had been fired for expressing her views. The airline said that she was fired because of how she expressed her views, which included sending confrontational anti-abortion messages to the union’s president, Audrey Stone.
Photo: VDB Photos | Shutterstock
Today, both parties are back in court. Southwest hopes to reverse the last decision made by U.S. District Court Judge Brantley Starr. Starr ruled in December that Southwest must pay $810,180 in damages, which included $150,000 in back pay. The jury had asked for payment of $5.3 million, but federal discrimination laws regulate the amount that can be paid, and the judge lowered the amount.
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As mentioned above, Southwest argues that Carter was fired for violating company rules. By sending “hostile and graphic” anti-abortion messages to coworkers and even the union president, Carter broke the rules requiring civility in the workplace. Carter’s firing came shortly after a Women’s March in Washington D.C., where the union’s president was present. Carter communicated with Stone and said she was “despicable” for participating. One of her messages said,
“This is what you supported during your paid leave with others at the Women’s March in D.C…. you are truly despicable in so many ways.”
What else has happened?
Carter’s defense was that the airline violated federal law protecting employees from religious-based discrimination. Because of the suit, Judge Starr ordered Southwest to issue a statement to its flight attendants that it did not discriminate for religious practices and beliefs. However, the airline only went so far as to say it did not discriminate. This led Judge Starr to craft a statement he told the airline to share with its staff. Additionally, he made three members of the airline’s legal team attend religious liberty training.
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Carter was a union member for nearly 20 years. She joined when she was hired in 1996 but rescinded her membership in 2013 after learning that her union fees were being used to support pro-abortion causes. However, because she was still an active staff member, Carter had to continue paying her fees.
Photo: Ashlee D. Smith | Southwest Airlines
The lawsuit was filed in 2017 but has still not been resolved. Carter is working with the National Right to Work Foundation, whose president said the following last year,
“First, Southwest Airlines violated Charlene Carter’s rights by firing her at the union’s behest. Now, the airline is doubling down by misleading other workers about its wrongdoing in defiance of a federal court order.” – Mark Mix
Mix added that the foundation would continue to fight for Carter and oppose the airline’s attempts to get away with what they have done.