CBA preempts Muslim flight attendant's religious bias claim, 6th Circuit confirms

An airline flight attendant said her Muslim beliefs prevented her from serving alcohol, but she can't sue the company for requiring her to sell booze on its planes because her claim fell under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA), the 6th Circuit recently ruled.

Facts

Charee Stanley converted to Islam in 2013. Just a few weeks later, she began working for ExpressJet as a flight attendant. From the start, she prepared and served alcohol to passengers without any qualms. In June 2015, however, her religious leader informed her that Muslims were forbidden from not only consuming alcohol but also preparing or serving it.

Stanley discussed the issue with her inflight operations manager. Because her next assigned flight was "within minutes" of departing, the manager suggested she ask the other attendant to handle all the alcoholic beverages prepared and served during the trip. The other attendant apparently agreed to the request.

The arrangement was unlikely to succeed in the long term, however, because it violated several provisions of the CBA in place between ExpressJet and the union representing its flight attendants. For example, under the CBA's seniority rules, Stanley would have to:

• Mix drinks every time she flew with an attendant who had more seniority; and
• Prepare and serve alcohol on flights with only one flight attendant if she drew the assignment based on seniority.

At least two of Stanley's coworkers complained soon after she began asking others on all her flights to prepare and serve all alcoholic drinks.