The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled June 24 that two former Alaska Airlines flight attendants may proceed with their religious discrimination claims to trial, marking a significant reversal from a lower court’s 2024 decision that had dismissed the case before a jury could hear it.
A three-judge panel held that Marli Brown and Lacey Smith, both Christians, presented enough evidence for a jury to decide whether the airline and their union, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA AFL-CIO (AFA), discriminated against them under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and state laws.
The case stems from an Alaska Airlines internal employee forum post announcing the company’s support for the Equality Act, federal legislation that would extend federal nondiscrimination requirements to sexual orientation and “gender identity.” Critics of the measure have warned that it could endanger women by allowing men in women’s spaces and violate religious accommodations and conscience protections.
Smith posted a question responding to the Equality Act post, asking on the forum whether it was possible to “regulate morality.” Brown posted a more explicit faith-based critique, raising concerns that the legislation would endanger the Church and encourage suppression of religious freedom.
“The Equality act would affect everything from girls’ and women’s showers and locker rooms to women’s shelters and women’s prisons, endangering safety and diminishing privacy,” Brown wrote. “Giving people blanket permission to enter private spaces for the opposite sex enables sexual predators to exploit the rules and gain easy access to victims.”
According to the Ninth Circuit opinion, Alaska Airlines leadership and legal personnel became involved shortly after the comments were posted. Taylor Ball, a member of Alaska’s legal department, wrote in an internal email that employees “do not have the right to believe that LGBTQ rights are” immoral. Carmen Willias, Alaska’s vice president of inflight, replied, “I 100% agree.”
The airline deleted the comments, shut down further discussion on the forum, revised its internal commenting policy to bar personal opinions, including “religious or political” opinions, and launched investigations into the two employees, according to the documents. Both flight attendants were terminated. The opinion also cited messages from Jeffrey Peterson, the AFA Master Executive Council president, who repeatedly referred to Smith as a “bigot” and said management needed to send her “packing.”
U.S. District Judge Barbara Rothstein granted summary judgment to the airline and union in 2024, ruling that Alaska fired the women for violating company policies rather than because of their religion. But the Ninth Circuit panel, in the opinion written by Judge Daniel Bress, reversed that decision for claims against the airline and the union.
Bress wrote that a reasonable jury could find Alaska’s explanations for the firings were pretextual, particularly given Brown’s religious statement and the broader context of the company’s reaction. The panel found genuine disputes of material fact over whether the firings were motivated by the women’s religious beliefs.
First Liberty Institute, which represents the plaintiffs, called the ruling a victory for religious liberty in the workplace in a June 24 statement.
“The Ninth Circuit’s decision today reinforces that federal civil rights laws protect people of faith from discrimination by their employer or their union,” Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, said. “You cannot be fired because your employer does not like your religious beliefs.”
The case, Brown v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., now returns to the district court for further proceedings.