Appeals court greenlights discrimination lawsuit by Christian flight attendants

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled in favor of two former Alaska Airlines flight attendants who claim they were fired for their religious beliefs. The airline fired flight attendants Lacey Smith and Marli Brown, who voiced moral concerns about the company’s stance on pro-LGBT legislation on the basis of their Christian beliefs. The pair sued the airline for wrongful termination and accused their union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, of discrimination.

A district court previously issued a summary judgment in favor of Alaska Airlines last year, prompting the women to appeal the case. The appeals court ultimately found the case evidence strong enough for a jury to find the company had discriminated and ordered the case returned to the lower court for a jury trial.

What exactly was said? Alaska Airlines posted the company’s supportive stance on the Equality Act to the company’s internal messaging forum in 2021. The proposed federal legislation would expand nondiscrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity within various contexts. Critics argued that it endangered the safety and privacy of women and girls, threatened fairness in sports, and infringed on religious freedom.

Brown posted a response to the company’s statement, voicing concern that the measure would encourage the suppression of religious freedoms and eliminate conscience protections. Smith also responded to the company statement, asking whether the company thought it possible to regulate morality. Court documents showed that company leaders started to discuss how to respond to the posts via email. Correspondence showed the company’s legal department head stated that employees didn’t have the right to believe that what the company characterized as LGBT rights were immoral, to which a company VP voiced agreement.

Separately, an AFA union representative messaged another union official via Google chat, asking if the flight attendant’s comments should be shut down. The representative alternatively suggested that Smith and Brown be put in a burlap sack and dropped down a well, according to correspondence documented in the opinion. The company launched separate investigations into the women, both of which ended in their termination from the company. After their firings, the airline described Brown’s comments as discriminatory, hateful, and offensive, while an AFA representative referred to Smith as a bigot during a union leader meeting.

How did the appeals panel rule? The federal panel pointed to testimony from Tiffany Dehaan, the company’s director of culture, who reported that Alaska Airlines leaders expected religious concerns to come up with the post.

The company appeared fully aware that some would object to the Equality Act for religious reasons, yet still created the forum to discuss the controversial issue, and then fired Brown for voicing the religious concerns they had previously anticipated, the opinion noted. This is yet another example of why Brown’s case should be regarded as a genuine fact dispute for the airline’s cited reason for her termination, the opinion added.

The opinion also took issue with how aggressively the company shifted its stance on Smith’s post. Alaska Airlines went from treating Smith’s post as legitimate and deserving of a response from leadership, before later describing her simple question as offensive and discriminatory, according to the ruling. Again, a reasonable jury could see that the airline’s characterizations of Smith’s post were overwrought or inaccurate, and therefore pretextual, the opinion continued.

How has Alaska Airlines responded? WORLD on Wednesday reached out to the airline’s media team as well as the flight attendants union for comment. This story will be updated with any response received.