Southwest Airlines announced on Tuesday that it would challenge an unprecedented order by a federal judge in Texas forcing three of its top attorneys to participate in “religious liberty training” provided by a well-known conservative Christian legal organization.
One day after U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr claimed the attorneys had weakened his earlier decision in a religious discrimination case brought by Southwest flight attendant Charlene Carter, the airline confirmed in a statement that it would file an appeal.
Starr said that rather than providing notice of employees’ rights against religious discrimination, as he had instructed Southwest to do, the lawyers instead wrote a document cautioning staff members not to transgress company policy, which prompted Southwest to fire Carter.
Carter claims she was dismissed for questioning her union’s choice to support Planned Parenthood, a sponsor of the 2017 Women’s March, a large-scale demonstration that took place after the inauguration of former President Donald Trump. According to Carter, she is a Christian who is against abortion.
The attorneys had until August 28 to complete an eight-hour seminar led by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which frequently participates in high-profile legal issues involving abortion and religious freedom. Starr is a Trump appointment.
ADF has led initiatives to limit access to the abortion drug mifepristone and assisted in the creation of a Mississippi abortion ban that was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in its decision ending women’s constitutional right to abortion in June 2022.
Southwest did not go into detail in its statement about the reasons behind its appeal.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, a conservative labor union advocacy organization, provides Carter’s legal counsel. The organization’s president, Mark Mix, stated that the decision on Monday “shuts down Southwest Airlines’ bald-faced effort to dodge its duty to inform flight attendants of its wrongdoing.”
Judges frequently compel corporations to take action to stop discriminatory behavior, including teaching employees and implementing new rules, but it is uncommon for them to direct corporate managers to attend training led by particular groups. Starr noted earlier decisions mandating that lawyers take ethical or continuing education courses.
According to David Lopez, who served as general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under the Obama administration, the decision may be unprecedented, and the selection of ADF to deliver the training is concerning given its history of promoting a conservative Christian viewpoint.
That might violate the attorneys’ constitutional rights, he said, particularly if they follow different religions.
According to Lopez, who is currently a law professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, “the court is heading into some really dangerous territory here.”
However, Andrea Lucas, a current EEOC commissioner chosen by Trump, claimed that the case demonstrated how many businesses treat employees’ right to practice their religion as an afterthought.
Companies and their attorneys should treat allegations of religious discrimination with the same seriousness as those based on race or sex, according to Lucas.
Jim Campbell, the chief legal counsel for ADF, stated that the organization was “happy to help” by offering instruction on the statutes prohibiting religious discrimination.
Campbell said in a statement that “every company ought to value religious liberty and different viewpoints in the workplace.”
Southwest has claimed that Carter was let off because of violating the organization’s “civility policy” by berating employees on social media regarding the Women’s March.
Southwest and Carter’s union were convicted guilty of religious discrimination by a jury last year. Starr commanded them to reimburse Carter for more than $800,000 and to hire her back.
Southwest and the union are appealing the ruling, which also mandated that the airline inform its staff of their freedom to use social media to share their religious beliefs.
In a statement released on Monday, Starr said that Southwest disregarded the ruling by informing staff that “the court ordered us to notify you that Southwest doesn’t discriminate against its staff members for their religious convictions and beliefs.”
Southwest also justified Carter’s dismissal and vowed to keep enforcing its social media policy in a memo produced by the three attorneys Kerrie Forbes, Kevin Minchey, and Chris Maberry.