Allegiant Employee Says Co-Worker Told Racist Jokes, Then The Airline Fired Her — They Won In Court

An Allegiant airport employee said her white co-worker joked that black people are afraid of chainsaws because the noise sounds like a racial slur, and that contact with a black person made her sick. She complained about racism, was fired, and sued. She lost, and a federal appeals court just upheld Allegiant’s win. The airline said she lied during an investigation into an argument over a breakroom computer, and genuinely interpreted her complaint email to the company’s chairman as evidence that she hadn’t been truthful. Credit: boarding1now / 123RF Stock Photo Ebony Kelley worked for Allegiant at St. Pete–Clearwater airport from 2021 until December 2022. In her original complaint, she alleged that colleagues and management repeatedly touched her afro and treated her like something to pet. She said the airport’s general manager told her she should be flattered by the attention and wanted to touch her hair, too. And she claimed a co-worker made several inappropriate jokes: The chainsaw joke. The colleague allegedly asked why black people fear chainsaws, then imitated the sound with “Run n***** n***** n*****.” The illness joke. Supposedly that employee claimed contact with her had made them sick because they’d never been touched by a black person before. The slavery joke. And they reported said George Washington was the only white person with that last name because he’d owned slaves. The music. The employee also reported reached into her car and turned off her music because it was “too ghetto.” The employee also supposedly wanted to get her fired, referring to her as a “n***** b****.” However it turns out she hadn’t heard it directly herself, and it wasn’t clear who had actually said it. Allegiant disputed her story. The employee denied saying all of the things, and said she turned down the car music because it was loud and bothering customers. Meanwhile, the incident that led to the firing happened November 20, 2022. She was using a breakroom computer for mandatory training, had an altercation with the employee she claims was racist, and Allegiant looked into the dispute. Employees the airline interviewed didn’t support her claims and the airline believed them. After that, she emailed airline chairman Maury Gallagher to complain about racism at the airport. I recently addressed a co-worker about their racist comments and then I was placed on suspension pending investigation. In the airline’s investigation, she’d said she didn’t mention race during the computer altercation. But the HR investigation took her to now be saying she did. It’s not clear she was referring to that incident versus earlier ones, but the airline apparently believed she’d lied. The woman sued for race discrimination and retaliation, claiming she got fired but the allegedly racist employee didn’t, and that escalating matters to the airline chairman prompted the firing. However, the district court granted summary judgment for Allegiant, and the Eleventh Circuit affirmed on Wednesday, October 14. The courts found insufficient evidence that race or retaliation explained the decision. The ex-employee hadn’t identified a comparable white employee who was suspected of lying during an investigation and received better treatment. The airline’s investigation was already underway before she raised the specific allegations about racism, and her suspension preceded the email to the chairman. She had reported alleged racist behavior before being suspended, but the courts concluded that Allegiant’s discovery of what it believed was dishonesty defeated the inference of retaliation from the timing. An employer can honestly believe an accusation that’s wrong. That’s the problem I recently discussed in the case of a Delta flight attendant who says a Marriott dispute cost her her job. Showing that the employer made a mistake doesn’t establish discrimination. That the woman needed was evidence that Allegiant’s explanation concealed a discriminatory or retaliatory reason for firing her. Topics on this page