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- United Airways will pay out $305,000 to a Buddhist pilot who refused to go to AA on religious grounds.
- That determination intended he missing his health-related certification and was no for a longer period permitted to fly.
- United agreed to accommodate workers from non-Christian faiths in its method in the future.
United Airways will pay back $305,000 to a Buddhist pilot who refused to show up at conferences organised by the Christian-focused Alcoholics Nameless (AA) software.
The US Equal Work Option Commission (EEOC) explained in a press release that the airline discriminated against the pilot, who was diagnosed with liquor dependency, on religious grounds when it failed to provide an different path following he refused to go to AA conferences citing its spiritual undertones.
The man, who experienced been a pilot for 30 yrs, misplaced the professional medical certification issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) immediately after his analysis. A move to regaining the certification in United’s HIMS occupational substance abuse therapy program requires attending AA conferences.
He objected, citing the spiritual areas of AA’s 12-move software, which has its origins in a Christian team, for every the group’s FAQ web site. United turned down his suggestion of applying the Buddhism-based peer support group Refuge Recovery as an different, the commission explained.
The selection violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the foundation of faith, for each the commission, which sued the airline on the man’s behalf in 2020, The Associated Push noted at the time.
To solve the lawsuit, United will fork out the pilot $305,000 in again fork out and damages and reinstate him into its HIMS plan even though enabling him to attend a non-12-step peer restoration software. It will also take religious lodging in its software in the potential.
“Businesses have the affirmative obligation to modify their insurance policies to accommodate employees’ religious beliefs,” explained EEOC New York regional legal professional Jeffrey Burstein. “If they involve their employees to show up at AA as component of a rehabilitation application, they will have to make positive that they permit for alternatives for their workers who have spiritual objections to AA.”
A spokesperson for United advised Insider: “Regarding the EEOC, protection is our prime priority and we have the maximum self-assurance in the HIMS system, considered the gold standard inside our industry for the monitoring of substance abuse.”
The EEOC enforces federal legislation prohibiting work discrimination.
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