Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Awarded Nearly $1M in Damages

Following a victory at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Southwest Airlines flight attendant Charlene Carter has now received almost $1M in damages in her federal case against both Southwest and the Transport Workers Union. Her case charged both the union and airline with violating her rights by terminating her for expressing her personal and religious beliefs in opposition to TWU political activism. Carter has received free legal aid from National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys in her nearly decade-long case. Carter's case began in 2017 when she sued both the union and airline in the Northern District Court of Texas for firing her in violation of both the federal Railway Labor Act (RLA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Through private communications, Carter had criticized the TWU Local 556 president for using union dues to send flight attendants to the 2017 "Women's March" and also panned the union's support for a host of divisive political positions. Title VII protects against religious discrimination in the workplace, while the RLA guards the right of workers in the air or rail industries to criticize union leadership. Five years later, a jury found in Carter's favor, awarding her a $5M verdict. The District Court ordered Southwest and the union to give Carter the maximum amount of compensatory and punitive damages permitted under federal law, in addition to other forms of relief. The District Court also ordered that Carter be reinstated as a flight attendant at Southwest. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the District Court's finding that both Southwest and the union had discriminated against Carter based on her religious practice. Now, a Satisfaction of Judgment filed with the District Court indicates that Carter was paid damages totaling $946,102.87 as her nine-year litigation comes to a close.