Judge dismisses Southwest Airlines ‘flu’ over religious freedom training order

On May 18, when Southwest Commercial Airlines landed in San Diego, California, the United States, it passed two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers at its home port: USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) (left) and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72). 2023.REUTERS/Mike Blake With permission

Sept 1 (Reuters) – A Texas federal judge doubled down on requiring Southwest Airlines Co LUV.N lawyers to attend “religious freedom training,” rejecting the company’s contention that the unusual order was illegal as a “flu” statement.

U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr in Dallas late Thursday denied Southwest Airlines’ motion to stay an Aug. 8 order imposing sanctions on three of the airline’s in-house attorneys involved in the involvement of a former flight attendant religious discrimination cases brought by persons.

Starr said lawyers have until Sept. 17 to attend an eight-hour training course hosted by the conservative Christian group Alliance Defending Freedom. 26.

Southwest has appealed Starr’s previous ruling and may now ask the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to stay the ruling pending the outcome of the appeal.

Lawyers for Southwest Airlines and former flight attendant Charlene Carter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Carter sued Southwest in 2017, accusing the airline of firing her because she opposed her union’s participation in a Planned Parenthood-sponsored protest on religious grounds.

After a jury ruled in Carter’s favor last year, Starr awarded Carter $800,000 in damages and ordered Southwest to reinstate her. Southwest is appealing the decisions.

Starr said in the sanctions order that Southwest’s lawyers undermined his previous ruling. He said that instead of informing employees of their rights against religious discrimination, as he ordered Southwest to do, lawyers wrote a memo warning employees not to violate the company’s civility policy that led to Carter’s firing.

Last month, a justice reform advocacy group filed a complaint accusing Starr of misconduct by taking the “bizarre” step of ordering religious training. Starr has not commented on the complaint.

Southwest decided to stay the decision while it appealed, arguing that Starr was not entitled to require training because it provided no remedy for Carter and that his order violated the company’s right to free speech under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The airline also claimed that Starr’s ordering of training by a group with specific ideological views was unprecedented.

Alliance Defending Freedom is regularly involved in high-profile cases involving abortion and religious freedom. Starr’s uncle, Kenneth Starr, who spearheaded the investigation that led to the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton, was a member of the ADF’s Supreme Court Advisory Committee before his death last year.

Starr on Thursday dismissed Southwest’s claims, calling it “more of a flu than a legal objection because Southwest has not made any legal argument as to why training with an ‘ideological organization’ is unconstitutional or violates the law.” .”

Starr said the sanctions do not violate Southwest’s free speech rights because it does not prevent the airline from speaking out or force it to say anything specific.

The case is Carter v. Southwest Airlines, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, No. 3:17-cv-2278.

Carter: Matthew Gilliam of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation

Southwest Airlines: Paulo McKeeby of Reed Smith

read more:

Southwest Airlines to appeal judge’s ruling requiring ‘religious freedom training’

Complaint filed against US judge’s ‘bizarre’ Southwest religious freedom training order

Judge rules to halt ‘religious freedom training’ for Southwest lawyers

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