The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a stay on Friday, halting an order that required Southwest Airlines’ attorneys to undergo religious liberty training pending an appeal. This comes after a lower court found Southwest in contempt for not adhering to a notice requirement in a religious discrimination lawsuit involving a terminated flight attendant, Charlene Carter, who had distributed anti-abortion material based on her religious beliefs.
The notice requirement mandated that Southwest post notices informing employees of their rights under the Railway Labor Act and Title VII, affirming the company’s non-discrimination based on religious beliefs. Southwest complied by emailing the verdict to flight attendants and posting documents in break rooms, but also issued an internal memo labeling Carter’s messages as inappropriate and offensive.
Carter motioned for sanctions, which led to the contempt ruling. The lower court then ordered Southwest to issue a verbatim statement to employees and directed its attorneys to attend religious liberty training with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative special interest group.
The Fifth Circuit concluded that the contempt order likely exceeded the district court’s civil contempt authority, finding the prescribed training neither corrected the issue nor was it appropriate as a punitive measure. The appeal for the contempt ruling and the underlying judgment against Southwest is ongoing.
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