By The Center Square Staff
By Bethany Blankley
Updated: December 19, 2022 - 11:40pm
A federal judge has awarded a former Southwest Airlines flight attendant the maximum amount in damages allowed under federal law and issued an injunction against the airline and its union from discriminating against flight attendants because of their religious beliefs.
Judge Brantley Starr, ruling for the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, last week ordered Southwest to pay Charlene Carter back pay and other forms of relief that the jury awarded when she won her lawsuit in July.
The jury had awarded her a total of $5.3 million in damages but because federal law limits damages that companies are required to pay, her award was reduced to $810,180 in damages and $150,000 in back pay.
Starr also ordered Southwest to fully reinstate Carter as a flight attendant and issued a permanent injunction against Southwest and Transportation Worker’s Union Local 556 (TWU) from discriminating against flight attendants under their purview because of their religious beliefs.
He issued the final judgment months after The Center Square publicized emails made public in court that show a union representative expressing support for “targeted assassinations” of union critics, likening them to a “cancerous tumor.”
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/court-demands-southwest-airlines-reinstate-flight-attendant-fired-over