Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
In 2021, Alaska Airlines announced on a company message board support for the proposed Equality Act and invited employees to share their opinions.
But Alaska Airlines really was asking for expressions of support, not opposition. Two flight attendants made comments critical of the Equality Act and their employer’s support for the bill.
According to First Liberty Institute, Alaska Airlines called their comments discriminatory, hateful, and offensive, and fired them. The flight attendants said their union offered no support. A union representative said they should be put in a burlap bag and dropped in a well.
The women filed a lawsuit, alleging religious discrimination. A lower court dismissed their case. They appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which recently heard arguments.
“Corporations like Alaska Airlines cannot violate the law and fire employees simply because they don’t like their religious beliefs,” said Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty. “Firing employees for mentioning that they hold traditional religious beliefs about gender is discrimination. Federal civil rights laws protect people of faith from discrimination by their employer or their union.”
The former flight attendants would like a jury to hear their case after the lower court’s dismissal. Given that courts in recent years have ruled in favor of protecting religious freedom, the women have a better than even chance that the Ninth Circuit will rule in their favor.
The Ninth Circuit earlier this month upheld World Vision’s right to hire people who believe that marriage is the union between one man and one woman.
Photo credit: By Sam Almo-Milkin – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, link
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