Pilot forced to AA meetings sues and wins $305,000 plus no religious AA
https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/united-airlines-lawsuit-305000-buddhist-pilot-aa-meetings/
After firing a Buddhist pilot for not going through a Christian-focused alcoholism recovery program, United Airlines has agreed to award that pilot back pay and change their policy for similar situations.
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After firing a Buddhist pilot for not going through a Christian-focused alcoholism recovery program, United Airlines has agreed to award that pilot back pay and change their policy for similar situations.
That was a problem for Disbrow because he’s a Buddhist who didn’t want to pledge allegiance to religious views he didn’t hold, in a place where he didn’t feel comfortable.
He soon learned about a nearly identical program called “Refuge Recovery” that catered to Buddhists and asked United if that would be a sufficient alternative. They said no. It was Alcoholics Anonymous or nothing. That meant he couldn’t complete the treatment program, which meant he couldn’t get his job back.
In 2020, he sued the airline with the help of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The argument in the lawsuit was fairly simple: United didn’t say there was a substantive difference between the two recovery programs; they just forced Disbrow to go through the quasi-Christian one, which violated his civil rights.
