Southwest Airlines tagged by jury for $800K in religious discrimination lawsuit

A long-running battle between a flight attendant and Southwest Airlines recently concluded with an opinion from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (the federal appeals court covering Texas). There are lessons here for all Texas employers.

Facebook messages ignite a fight

Charlene Carter was a Southwest flight attendant. She also identifies herself as a conservative Christian who believes abortion is a sin. So, her ire was raised when her union president (also a Southwest employee) went to the January 21, 2017, Women’s March in Washington, D.C.—an event organized the day after the first inauguration of President Donald Trump in protest of his rhetoric and policy positions that were seen as threats to women’s rights, including abortion rights. Believing her union was supporting a sin, Carter fired off a series of Facebook messages to the president.

Message No. 1: aborted fetus video. The first message contained a video showing an aborted fetus in a metal bowl and stated that the union was “supporting this Murder.”

Message No 2: aborted fetus in a person’s hands. This video was accompanied by the following comment:

This is what you supported during your Paid Leave with others at the Women’s MARCH in DC. . . . You are truly Despicable in so many ways . . . by the way the RECALL [election] is going to Happen and you are limited in the days you will be living off of all the [Southwest flight attendants] . . . cant [sic] wait to see you back on line.