Trump Appointed Appeals Judges Revive Fired Alaska Airlines Employees’ Religious Bias Lawsuit [aRVTk8PaNlB]
A federal appeals court has revived a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by two former Alaska Airlines flight attendants who were fired after posting anti-LGBTQ+ statements on the company’s employee intranet. The women, represented by First Liberty Institute, argued in 2022 that they were dismissed because of their Christian beliefs after criticizing the airline’s support for the Equality Act. U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein in Seattle disagreed, saying the statements were not religious in nature, and therefore the firings were not discriminatory. She threw out the case. Now, the 9th Circuit reversed Rothstein’s order. It ruled that there is enough evidence for a jury to decide whether religious bias played a role in the firings.