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Employer Ordered to Pay Employee Five Million Dollars Because

Last Thursday a jury in Dallas, Texas awarded a former flight attendant Five Million Dollars against her former employer and union after they colluded to fire her in violation of Title VII because she shared her pro-life beliefs with her co-workers on social media. (This is one of the very few instances that I have seen an employer and union collude to terminate a union member.) Specifically, the plaintiff, Ms. Carter, alleged that:

  1. Her religious beliefs require her to share with others her pro-life stance on abortion;

  2. The union complained to her employer about her pro-life posts on Facebook;

  3. The union violated Title VII by trying to get her fired over her religious views; and

  4. The employer, Southwest Airlines, violated Title VII when it did fire her because of her pro-life social media content.

Ms. Carter argued that the defendants treated her less favorably than similarly situated co-workers who misused social media but did not share their pro-life views, and that they failed to accommodate her religious belief that she shares her views on abortion, as required by Title VII. The jury agreed and awarded Ms. Carter $700,000 in lost wages, $1,000,000 in compensatory damages, and $3,800,000 in punitive damages.

How can you make sure that you don’t ever have to pay this kind of money?

  1. Apply your work rules and policies consistently. Had the defendants treated all violations of their social media policies equally, the outcome may have been different.

  2. Title VII does not just protect politically correct beliefs or those that an employer agrees with, it protects all sincerely held religious beliefs, even those that may offend or be “politically incorrect.” Title VII requires employers to accommodate those beliefs as well.

  3. If you can’t effectively document that you did numbers 1 and 2, a jury is probably not going to believe you.

People’s beliefs and views on many significant issues are as polarized as ever before. Employers often must put their personal views on these issues aside and protect employees who advocate views that they don’t necessarily agree with, or that they may even find offensive. This is not easy, but it is often required by the law.

Employer Ordered to Pay Employee Five Million Dollars Because

Last Thursday a jury in Dallas, Texas awarded a former flight attendant Five Million Dollars against her former employer and union after they colluded to fire her in violation of Title VII because she shared her pro-life beliefs with her co-workers on social media. (This is one of the very few instances that I have seen an employer and union collude to terminate a union member.) Specifically, the plaintiff, Ms. Carter, alleged that:

  1. Her religious beliefs require her to share with others her pro-life stance on abortion;

  2. The union complained to her employer about her pro-life posts on Facebook;

  3. The union violated Title VII by trying to get her fired over her religious views; and

  4. The employer, Southwest Airlines, violated Title VII when it did fire her because of her pro-life social media content.

Ms. Carter argued that the defendants treated her less favorably than similarly situated co-workers who misused social media but did not share their pro-life views, and that they failed to accommodate her religious belief that she shares her views on abortion, as required by Title VII. The jury agreed and awarded Ms. Carter $700,000 in lost wages, $1,000,000 in compensatory damages, and $3,800,000 in punitive damages.

How can you make sure that you don’t ever have to pay this kind of money?

  1. Apply your work rules and policies consistently. Had the defendants treated all violations of their social media policies equally, the outcome may have been different.

  2. Title VII does not just protect politically correct beliefs or those that an employer agrees with, it protects all sincerely held religious beliefs, even those that may offend or be “politically incorrect.” Title VII requires employers to accommodate those beliefs as well.

  3. If you can’t effectively document that you did numbers 1 and 2, a jury is probably not going to believe you.

People’s beliefs and views on many significant issues are as polarized as ever before. Employers often must put their personal views on these issues aside and protect employees who advocate views that they don’t necessarily agree with, or that they may even find offensive. This is not easy, but it is often required by the law.

Employer Ordered to Pay Employee Five Million Dollars Because

Last Thursday a jury in Dallas, Texas awarded a former flight attendant Five Million Dollars against her former employer and union after they colluded to fire her in violation of Title VII because she shared her pro-life beliefs with her co-workers on social media. (This is one of the very few instances that I have seen an employer and union collude to terminate a union member.) Specifically, the plaintiff, Ms. Carter, alleged that:

  1. Her religious beliefs require her to share with others her pro-life stance on abortion;

  2. The union complained to her employer about her pro-life posts on Facebook;

  3. The union violated Title VII by trying to get her fired over her religious views; and

  4. The employer, Southwest Airlines, violated Title VII when it did fire her because of her pro-life social media content.

Ms. Carter argued that the defendants treated her less favorably than similarly situated co-workers who misused social media but did not share their pro-life views, and that they failed to accommodate her religious belief that she shares her views on abortion, as required by Title VII. The jury agreed and awarded Ms. Carter $700,000 in lost wages, $1,000,000 in compensatory damages, and $3,800,000 in punitive damages.

How can you make sure that you don’t ever have to pay this kind of money?

  1. Apply your work rules and policies consistently. Had the defendants treated all violations of their social media policies equally, the outcome may have been different.

  2. Title VII does not just protect politically correct beliefs or those that an employer agrees with, it protects all sincerely held religious beliefs, even those that may offend or be “politically incorrect.” Title VII requires employers to accommodate those beliefs as well.

  3. If you can’t effectively document that you did numbers 1 and 2, a jury is probably not going to believe you.

People’s beliefs and views on many significant issues are as polarized as ever before. Employers often must put their personal views on these issues aside and protect employees who advocate views that they don’t necessarily agree with, or that they may even find offensive. This is not easy, but it is often required by the law.

Employer Ordered to Pay Employee Five Million Dollars Because

Last Thursday a jury in Dallas, Texas awarded a former flight attendant Five Million Dollars against her former employer and union after they colluded to fire her in violation of Title VII because she shared her pro-life beliefs with her co-workers on social media. (This is one of the very few instances that I have seen an employer and union collude to terminate a union member.) Specifically, the plaintiff, Ms. Carter, alleged that:

  1. Her religious beliefs require her to share with others her pro-life stance on abortion;

  2. The union complained to her employer about her pro-life posts on Facebook;

  3. The union violated Title VII by trying to get her fired over her religious views; and

  4. The employer, Southwest Airlines, violated Title VII when it did fire her because of her pro-life social media content.

Ms. Carter argued that the defendants treated her less favorably than similarly situated co-workers who misused social media but did not share their pro-life views, and that they failed to accommodate her religious belief that she shares her views on abortion, as required by Title VII. The jury agreed and awarded Ms. Carter $700,000 in lost wages, $1,000,000 in compensatory damages, and $3,800,000 in punitive damages.

How can you make sure that you don’t ever have to pay this kind of money?

  1. Apply your work rules and policies consistently. Had the defendants treated all violations of their social media policies equally, the outcome may have been different.

  2. Title VII does not just protect politically correct beliefs or those that an employer agrees with, it protects all sincerely held religious beliefs, even those that may offend or be “politically incorrect.” Title VII requires employers to accommodate those beliefs as well.

  3. If you can’t effectively document that you did numbers 1 and 2, a jury is probably not going to believe you.

People’s beliefs and views on many significant issues are as polarized as ever before. Employers often must put their personal views on these issues aside and protect employees who advocate views that they don’t necessarily agree with, or that they may even find offensive. This is not easy, but it is often required by the law.

Employer Ordered to Pay Employee Five Million Dollars Because

Last Thursday a jury in Dallas, Texas awarded a former flight attendant Five Million Dollars against her former employer and union after they colluded to fire her in violation of Title VII because she shared her pro-life beliefs with her co-workers on social media. (This is one of the very few instances that I have seen an employer and union collude to terminate a union member.) Specifically, the plaintiff, Ms. Carter, alleged that:

  1. Her religious beliefs require her to share with others her pro-life stance on abortion;

  2. The union complained to her employer about her pro-life posts on Facebook;

  3. The union violated Title VII by trying to get her fired over her religious views; and

  4. The employer, Southwest Airlines, violated Title VII when it did fire her because of her pro-life social media content.

Ms. Carter argued that the defendants treated her less favorably than similarly situated co-workers who misused social media but did not share their pro-life views, and that they failed to accommodate her religious belief that she shares her views on abortion, as required by Title VII. The jury agreed and awarded Ms. Carter $700,000 in lost wages, $1,000,000 in compensatory damages, and $3,800,000 in punitive damages.

How can you make sure that you don’t ever have to pay this kind of money?

  1. Apply your work rules and policies consistently. Had the defendants treated all violations of their social media policies equally, the outcome may have been different.

  2. Title VII does not just protect politically correct beliefs or those that an employer agrees with, it protects all sincerely held religious beliefs, even those that may offend or be “politically incorrect.” Title VII requires employers to accommodate those beliefs as well.

  3. If you can’t effectively document that you did numbers 1 and 2, a jury is probably not going to believe you.

People’s beliefs and views on many significant issues are as polarized as ever before. Employers often must put their personal views on these issues aside and protect employees who advocate views that they don’t necessarily agree with, or that they may even find offensive. This is not easy, but it is often required by the law.

Employer Ordered to Pay Employee Five Million Dollars Because

Last Thursday a jury in Dallas, Texas awarded a former flight attendant Five Million Dollars against her former employer and union after they colluded to fire her in violation of Title VII because she shared her pro-life beliefs with her co-workers on social media. (This is one of the very few instances that I have seen an employer and union collude to terminate a union member.) Specifically, the plaintiff, Ms. Carter, alleged that:

  1. Her religious beliefs require her to share with others her pro-life stance on abortion;

  2. The union complained to her employer about her pro-life posts on Facebook;

  3. The union violated Title VII by trying to get her fired over her religious views; and

  4. The employer, Southwest Airlines, violated Title VII when it did fire her because of her pro-life social media content.

Ms. Carter argued that the defendants treated her less favorably than similarly situated co-workers who misused social media but did not share their pro-life views, and that they failed to accommodate her religious belief that she shares her views on abortion, as required by Title VII. The jury agreed and awarded Ms. Carter $700,000 in lost wages, $1,000,000 in compensatory damages, and $3,800,000 in punitive damages.

How can you make sure that you don’t ever have to pay this kind of money?

  1. Apply your work rules and policies consistently. Had the defendants treated all violations of their social media policies equally, the outcome may have been different.

  2. Title VII does not just protect politically correct beliefs or those that an employer agrees with, it protects all sincerely held religious beliefs, even those that may offend or be “politically incorrect.” Title VII requires employers to accommodate those beliefs as well.

  3. If you can’t effectively document that you did numbers 1 and 2, a jury is probably not going to believe you.

People’s beliefs and views on many significant issues are as polarized as ever before. Employers often must put their personal views on these issues aside and protect employees who advocate views that they don’t necessarily agree with, or that they may even find offensive. This is not easy, but it is often required by the law.