A Former Employee Brings Discrimination Suit Against Southwest
Jackie Reddy September 21, 2018
Jamel Parker has brought a discrimination suit against the company, claiming it permitted staff at HOU to create what has been described as a “whites-only” break area. Southwest declined to comment, but this isn’t the only allegation of discrimination brought against the airline in recent months.
Jamel Parker, a former employee of Southwest Airlines, has taken legal action against the carrier, claiming that the airline permitted other staff members at Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) to set up what has been described as a “whites-only” break area, CNN reports.
The discrimination suit was filed in federal court on Wednesday. In his suit, Parker claimed that the space had been used for a number of years until it was recently converted into a supervisor’s office. According to the outlet, Parker has also claimed that he lost his job at Southwest because of his race. It is not known exactly how much he is seeking in damages.
Southwest declined to comment on Parker’s suit directly, but was quoted as saying that, “We work relentlessly to foster an environment that is diverse and inclusive. We do not tolerate or condone discrimination of any kind, and we cultivate a workplace that mirrors the customers we serve.”
This, however, doesn’t appear to be the only case of discrimination brought against the carrier in recent months. Earlier this spring, CNN reports that Lindsay Gottlieb, who is white, “was asked to prove that her one-year-old biracial son was hers before they could board a plane.”
She relayed her experience with Southwest via social media and was quoted by the outlet as tweeting, “After approx 50 times flying with my 1 year old son, ticket counter personnel told me I had to “prove” that he was my son, despite having his passport. She said because we have different last name. My guess is because he has a different skin color.”
The carrier apologized for the incident.
The pretrial proceedings for Parker’s case are set for January 25.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
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I don’t get allegations by people claiming to have been fired because of their race. Was their race not obvious when they were hired? I don’t usually side with the corporations, but the notion of a “whites only” break area seems pretty farfetched at this point in time - the complainant didn’t elaborate on what he meant by that. (I’m sure there wasn’t a sign at the door that said “whites only”.) And as for the example at the end - sorry, but with the focus on human trafficking, you will get extra scrutiny for traveling with a child that has a different last name, particularly if he doesn’t even appear to be the same race. The public pressure on the airlines to watch for these signs is the reason it’s like this.
Isn't the asking to prove your parenthood part of a much needed anti-traficking drive? One of my good friends has a daughter with a different surname to her, she always carries her daughter's birth certificate when traveling for exactly this reason...