Southwest Airlines Cannot ‘Sacrifice’ Workers’ Religious Rights on ‘Altar’ of Company Policy, Judge Rules

Charlene Carter holds her former Southwest Airlines flight attendant's uniform at her home in Aurora, Colo., on Aug. 30, 2022. Michael Ciaglo for The Epoch Times

A Texas federal judge minced no words as he denied Southwest Airlines’ request for a retrial in the free-speech case of a now-reinstated flight attendant.

Judge Brantley Starr chastised the airline for its “disturbing” and “hostile view of religious liberty” in the case of Charlene Carter, a Colorado woman whose anti-abortion social media messages got her fired six years ago.

“Southwest’s argument is this: Companies can sacrifice the faith of their employees on the altar of company policy because some employees dislike people of faith,” the judge wrote in his April 24 decision. Starr rejected that argument, and upheld a jury’s July 2022 verdict against Southwest and the flight attendants’ union.