Alaska Airlines flight attendants Marley Brown and Lacey Smith say the airline has inspired their Christian faith as it promotes diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). called for religious freedom in the workplace.
Smith spoke to Fox News Digital about why he believes Alaska Airlines' firings were motivated by religious discrimination. During her interview, she was accompanied by Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute (FLI), who is representing her in her May 2022 lawsuit against Alaska Airlines.
“I went to my schedule in the morning and saw an article posted that just said Alaska supports the Equality Act,” Smith told Fox News Digital on Friday. Ta.
“There are a lot of people of different faiths who have issues with the Equality Act. And they asked the state of Alaska some questions about what it meant when they said things like, 'Alaska supports the Equality Act.' I guess by the way…what does that mean? Does it make any sense to me?”
The Equality Act, introduced by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sought to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in employment, housing, and other capacities under federal civil rights law. . The bill passed the House of Representatives in February 2021.
Lacey Smith speaks with Fox News Digital. (Fox News Digital)
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Her comments to Fox News Digital come Wednesday after FLI and Ard Law Group filed a motion for summary judgment on behalf of Smith and Brown, which filed a lawsuit against Alaska Airlines and the flight attendants union, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA). This was announced in response to the incident. May 2022.
FLI and Ard Law Group The airline claims to have canceled the contract. This was because they had “raised questions about the company's support for the Equality Act in an internal forum” and because the AFA “failed to adequately defend them”.
“This happened at a time when Alaska Airlines was undergoing a major DEI push, encouraging employees to have courageous conversations with each other, ask difficult questions, and share diverse perspectives. It's important to look at the context,” Taub told Fox News Digital.
She continued: “That's why it's so shocking that some Christian flight attendants who shared their views have been fired.”
Flight attendants' skepticism about the Equality Act came as the bill was being debated in Congress in 2021. During that period, Alaska Airlines expressed support for the bill, but two flight attendants were concerned that their employer's position on the measure was unreasonable. This is because it is unclear how the bill would affect employees who may have conflicting beliefs.
The Equality Act, introduced by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes in employment, housing, and other capacities under federal civil rights law. And so. The bill passed the House in February 2021, but not the Senate. (AP Photo/Carolyn Custer)
“I think the problem was they didn't know how it would affect me at work,” Smith told FOX News Digital.
“Personally, I have traditional Christian views on sexual morality, men and women, all of that.”
She further explained that there is a lot of confusion regarding the details of the bill.
“As an Alaska Airlines employee who supports the Equality Act, I wanted to know what it meant to me,” she explained.
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They said airlines expressed support for the bill on internal employee bulletin boards. Brown and Smith objected to the threat the bill poses to religious freedom and parental rights on messaging platforms.
Brown asked whether Alaska supports “endangering the church, encouraging the suppression of religious freedom, and extinguishing women's rights and parental rights.”
He said the law would force “all Americans to agree with a controversial government-imposed ideology or be treated as outlaws,” protected by civil rights law. It warned that it would destroy existing civil rights and constitutional freedoms.
Brown argued that the Equality Act would jeopardize the safety and privacy of girls and women in shower and locker room facilities, women's shelters, and prisons.
Smith told Fox News Digital that he asked airlines, “Do you think it's possible for you, as a company, to regulate morality?”
Andy Schneider, Alaska Airlines' senior vice president of human resources, responded to Smith's comments, according to court documents reported by Fox13 Seattle.
“Supporting the Equality Act is not about regulating morality. Legislation that ensures our LGBTQ+ employees and customers are protected from discrimination, no matter which state they live in or fly to. to support.” Schneider said:.
“That's the question that got me fired,” Smith told FOX News Digital.
“That was the first conversation I had with Alaska, and they responded with it. Shortly after that, they deleted it, deleted the comment, and then they posted it online and it was I was told that they were calling.”
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Eventually, Smith found out that all of her trips were cancelled.
“And you're like…things are starting to look more and more serious,” Smith said.
FLI claimed their comments were removed as “discriminatory,” “hateful,” and “offensive,” and they were suspended from flight shifts pending an investigation.
Other comments criticizing airline support for the Equality Act were not removed because they did not address religious freedom issues. It is stated in court documents.
The flight attendants claimed they requested “religious accommodations” from the AFA during the termination process, but received no help.
She added that they disagree with her criticism of the bill.
“At First Liberty, conversations are taken out of context,” an AFA spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“Union leaders did not report the flight attendant or place her in a management position at Alaska. The conversation was private and not an 'internal chat,'” the spokesperson said.
The statement continued: “AFA has vigorously represented the plaintiffs and has decided not to proceed with the plaintiffs' case to arbitration because the plaintiffs' claims lacked sufficient merit. We oppose discrimination in all forms. ” he explained.
After the comments were deleted, Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown were investigated and investigated by aviation authorities. Eventually they were canceled.
Additionally, FLI claims that other participants were treated better than Brown and Lacey and that the airline violated its “three strikes policy” after what appears to be a single violation by both plaintiffs. insisted.
An Alaska Airlines spokesperson declined to comment, citing “pending litigation.” (Orange County Fire Department)
According to court documents, the court explained that Smith received a “notice of termination” and was fired “because her moral beliefs regarding gender identity and sexual orientation were deemed discriminatory.”
“If Lacey had held different religious beliefs regarding sexual morality, the company would not have fired her,” the court filing states.
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“Alaska Airlines' in-flight vice president testified that employees' use of the term 'opposite sex' violates the airline's discrimination policy because it implies there are only two genders.” FLI reported.
A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines told Fox News Digital: “Due to pending litigation, we are unable to comment.”
“Benjamin Franklin equated ignorance with tyranny. And unfortunately, in 2024, and certainly in 2021, there are people who are ignorant about workplace freedoms and protections from religious discrimination. I think there are a lot of them,” Smith told FOX News Digital.
“I don't know how we got to a country where you can't raise moral questions without losing your job. But that's where we are.”
Ms. Smith currently works as a receptionist at a hotel's front desk.
