Judge Orders Pro-Life Flight Attendant Re-Hired At Southwest Airlines

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A Texas federal judge has ordered Southwest Airlines to reinstate Charlene Carter, the flight attendant who made headlines after a jury ruled that she was unlawfully fired for expressing pro-life views and for criticizing her union.

In a decision filed on Dec. 5, five months after a jury decided in Carterโ€™s favor, Judge Brantley Starr remarked, โ€œBags fly free with Southwest. But free speech didnโ€™t fly at all with Southwest in this case.โ€

Starr granted Carter $300,000 in compensatory and punitive damages from Southwest; $300,000 in compensatory and punitive damages from the flight attendantsโ€™ union, Transport Workers Union of America Local 556; $150,000 in back pay, and $60,180.82 in prejudgment interest.

Although the jury voted that Carter deserved more than $5 million, laws and rules limit the amount that can be awarded in such cases.

โ€œThe jury also awarded front [or future] pay, but Carter would rather have her job back,โ€ the judge wrote. โ€œThe Court reinstates Carter to her former position โ€ฆ If the Court opted for front pay over reinstatement, the court would complete Southwestโ€™s unlawful scheme. Reinstatement is appropriate.โ€

Further, the judge explicitly ordered Southwest and Local 556 to share the juryโ€™s verdict and Starrโ€™s decision with all members of the union via email and to post the documents in conspicuous places for a 60-day period.

Starrโ€™s order also forbids both the company and the union โ€œfrom discriminating against Southwest flight attendants for their religious practices and beliefs, includingโ€”but not limited toโ€”those expressed on social media and those concerning abortion.โ€

Southwest and Local 556 are required to inform employees that federal law prohibits such discrimination.

Both entities also must โ€œreasonably accommodate Southwest flight attendantsโ€™ sincerely held religious beliefs, practices, and observances,โ€ Starr wrote.

The judgeโ€™s rulings and rationale are contained in three documents totaling 43 pages in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

Byย Janice Hisle

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