A former JetBlue flight attendant has lost her lawsuit after being terminated for, in part, firing off an email to the company’s CEO protesting a mask mandate in 2022.
Florida federal judge Julie Sneed on June 16 ruled in favor of the airline in a lawsuit brought by Elisabeth Serian, who lost the services of her lawyer after claims for retaliation and hostile work environment were tossed.
She still had a failure-to-accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, but Sneed has now thrown that out because Serian didn’t file that charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days – a prerequisite to filing an ADA suit.
Sneed rejected the idea JetBlue’s alleged failure to accommodate Serian constituted a continuing violation, which would have given Serian more time to file with the EEOC.
“Plaintiff requested an accommodation – an exemption from Defendant’s mask mandate – on July 16, 2020,” Sneed wrote.
