On Tuesday, Southwest Airlines Co announced that it plans to challenge a Texas federal judge's uncommon ruling that mandates three of its senior attorneys to participate in "religious liberty training" by a prominent conservative Christian legal group. The airline confirmed its intention to appeal the decision, which came a day after U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr accused the lawyers of undermining his previous ruling in a religious bias case involving Southwest flight attendant Charlene Carter.
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Starr stated that instead of informing employees of their rights against religious discrimination, as he had ordered Southwest to do, the lawyers authored a memo cautioning workers not to violate the company's policy which led to Carter's dismissal. Carter claims she was fired for criticizing her union's decision to participate in the 2017 Women's March, a nationwide protest following the inauguration of former President Donald Trump because Planned Parenthood was a sponsor. Carter, who opposes abortion due to her Christian beliefs, alleges that she was discriminated against.
Starr, who was appointed by Trump, ordered the lawyers to attend an eight-hour training session conducted by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) by August 28. ADF is a conservative Christian organization that is frequently involved in high-profile court cases on abortion and religious liberties. The group has spearheaded efforts to restrict the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone and helped draft a Mississippi abortion ban upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in its June 2022 decision eliminating women's constitutional right to abortion.
Southwest did not provide details on the basis for its appeal in its statement. Carter is represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a conservative worker advocacy group. Mark Mix, the organization's president, said Monday's ruling "puts an end to Southwest Airlines' blatant attempt to evade its responsibility to inform flight attendants of its misconduct." While judges often order companies to take measures to address discriminatory conduct, such as training employees and implementing new policies, it is uncommon for them to require company officials to attend training conducted by specific groups. Starr cited previous rulings that required attorneys to attend continuing education or ethics training. The decision may be unprecedented, and the selection of ADF to conduct the training is concerning given its history of promoting a conservative Christian perspective, according to David Lopez, who served as general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) during the Obama administration. He believes that this could infringe on the lawyers' constitutional rights, particularly if they practice other religions. "The court is entering some really risky territory here," said Lopez, who is now a law professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. However, Andrea Lucas, a current EEOC commissioner appointed by Trump, believes that the case highlights that many companies view workers' religious freedom as an afterthought. "Companies and their lawyers should take findings of religious discrimination as seriously as discrimination based on race (or) sex," Lucas said. ADF's chief legal counsel, Jim Campbell, stated that the group is "happy to help" by providing training on laws prohibiting religious discrimination. "Every company should respect religious liberty and diverse viewpoints in the workplace," Campbell added in a statement. Southwest maintains that Carter was fired for harassing coworkers about the Women's March on social media in violation of a company's "civility policy." Last year, a jury found that Southwest and Carter's union had engaged in religious discrimination. Starr ordered them to pay Carter over $800,000 and reinstate her to her job. Southwest and the union are appealing that decision, which also required the airline to inform employees of their right to express their religious views on social media. Starr accused Southwest of flouting that order on Monday by informing employees that "the court ordered us to inform you that Southwest does not discriminate against our employees for their religious practices and beliefs." In a memo drafted by the three lawyers - Kerrie Forbes, Kevin Minchey, and Chris Maberry - Southwest also defended Carter's firing and stated that it would continue to enforce its social media policy.