A group of United Airlines employees are calling out its own CEO, alleging that he violated civil rights law with the company's vaccine mandate.
The letter asks the Board of Directors of the United Airlines Holdings to intervene to prevent the mounting costs of needless litigation. Scott Kirby, CEO of the company, defended the company's actions as justified to ensure safety and argued that it saved lives.
Employees sued the company earlier this year. The judge said the decision was not based on the merits of their claims, even though they were denied a preliminary injunction.
Judge Mark Pittman, U.S. District Court Judge, said he was concerned with the company's actions.
The Court is disturbed by United's seemingly calloused approach to its employees deeply concerned with injecting a foreign substance into their bodies. Its mandate reflects apathy for many of its employees and a lack of toleration for those who express diversity of thought, according to Pittman.
The employees, who range from five years to 36 years in office, argue that Kirby has failed to make reasonable accommodations for their religious beliefs.
We were told that we were no longer of any value to United Airlines because we wanted to exercise our rights codified in the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to request reasonable accommodations in lieu of Scott Kirby's vaccine mandate, the letter reads.
We want to make our own medical choices and pray to the God of our choice, the basis on which our nation was founded, and many of us were willing to give our lives to defend. When CEO Kirby mandated the unreasonable accommodation of indefinite unpaid leave as our only option, we stood together against what we believe is unreasonable, discriminatory and retaliatory. They pointed out a video in which Kirby suggested pilots may misrepresent their level of religious devotion.
I would encourage a pilot who has decided he's got the job, and that's why he's going to put his job on the line. United did not respond to a request for comment on the letter, but pointed out to FOX Business to Kirby's comments to the Senate Commerce Committee last week, where he said 80% of religious exemption requests were accepted. He said over 99% of his employees received the vaccine.
Kirby told Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, that his company fired six pilots for failure to comply with the mandate and put about 80 on unpaid leave.
During the hearing, Cruz described United's behavior as deeply disturbing. Kirby defended the decision, saying his company acted the way it did for safety. Kirby said we did this for safety. We believe it saved lives. I think that's my number one obligation and that's why I think it's my number one priority.