Southwest Airlines Sanctioned Following Flight Attendant's Free Speech Case

by Patrick Clarke
Last updated: 2:40 PM ET, Wed August 9, 2023

A Texas judge has found Southwest Airlines to be in contempt for the way it explained a recent legal case defeat to employees after a flight attendant accused the low-cost carrier of firing her for expressing her opposition to abortion.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr ordered Southwest to pay the flight attendant's most recent legal costs, dictated a statement for Southwest to pass along to its employees and ordered three of the airline's lawyers to complete "religious-liberty training" from a conservative Christian legal-advocacy group.

Charlene Carter won a roughly $800,000 judgment against the airline and the flight attendant's union last year, prompting Southwest to file an appeal in May. A spokesman for the carrier said it also plans to appeal the judge's latest sanctions.

Carter has since gotten her job back.

In his 29-page order, Starr said that Southwest acted as if its own policy limiting what employees can say is more important than a federal law protecting religious speech.

According to Carter, she was fired after calling the union president "despicable" for attending the 2017 Women's March in Washington, D.C. However, Southwest and Local 556 of the Transport Workers Union allege Carter had made offensive posts on Facebook and harassed the union president in private messages.

Southwest has been ordered to email a new verbatim statement declaring that it may not discriminate against flight attendants for religious beliefs "including — but not limited" to abortion.