A former JetBlue flight attendant accuses the airline of disability discrimination after she fought against being required to wear a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elisabeth Serian filed her lawsuit in federal court accusing the company of violating Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Serian claims JetBlue failed to provide reasonable accommodation for her disability, created a hostile work environment, retaliated against her and ultimately terminated her employment.
According to the complaint, Serian began working for JetBlue in March 2014 as a flight attendant.
In early 2020 at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, Serian says she tried to be a team player by wearing a face mask. But she says her health declined because of the long-term use of face masks mandated by the TSA. She says she experienced respiratory difficulties, including vomiting, due to wearing a mask for up to 18 hours per day in highly pressurized air.
The complaint says a healthcare practitioner confirmed her health issues and suggested she needed a reasonable accommodation.
Serian says she formally requested an exemption from wearing a face mask in July 2020, but she says she was told to either wear a mask or take a leave of absence.
So, she says she did so. But she also says her health severely deteriorated during the next two years.
"Her respiratory system was inhibited and caused her to vomit as many as nine times per flight," the complaint states. "She spent her days off between flights trying to recover from her respiratory distress, fatigue and nausea.
"She began to believe that her health could no longer withstand the mask requirement but during 2022 it seemed possible that the mandate would soon come to an end. ... Serian thought if her health could tolerate the mask for just a while longer, then the mandate would be rescinded and perhaps her health would improve."
Serian says she emailed JetBlue numerous times during this period to reconsider her requested accommodation, but it continued "to fall on deaf ears." She says she was "very vocal" on JetBlue's unofficial private Facebook page about numerous articles and peer-reviewed studies that indicated that, not only are masks ineffective against fighting COVID, but that "they were actually detrimental to one’s health when worn for extended periods of time, especially at high altitudes."
She says she was bullied and harassed by other JetBlue employees for sharing this information on the Facebook page. She says she reported the bullying but no action was taken.
In April 2022, Serian says she had a meeting regarding her request for accommodation. But the mask mandate also was being rescinded, so Serian said her health no longer would be a concern. Still, she claims JetBlue turned the meeting into one where it accused her of cyberbullying with her posts about the mask mandate and information about it.
She also says JetBlue violated her privacy by leaking to other employees that she was going to be suspended at the meeting. She says she had evidence showing that. Instead, she says she was terminated.
Serian accuses the company of failure to provide reasonable accommodation, retaliation and hostile work environment.
She seeks compensatory, punitive and liquidated damages as well as other relief.