Lawsuit settled for $130,000 over religious discrimination at Mesaba Airlines
By APWednesday, December 23, 2009
Religious discrimination against Mesaba settled
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Mesaba Airlines, a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines Inc., has to pay $130,000 in a settlement involving a religious discrimination lawsuit.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit in September 2008, claiming Mesaba violated the Civil Rights Act when the company terminated customer service agent Laura Vallejos because she refused to work on the Jewish Sabbath.
During the litigation, the EEOC also identified four Christian applicants who applied for customer service agent positions but were allegedly rejected because they wanted weekend shifts that would not conflict with Sunday church services.
In a statement, Mesaba said it is pleased to reach an agreement and looks forward to working with the commission to improve the workplace.
U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank approved the settlement Tuesday.
