Wetherell v. Alaska Airlines
What's at Stake
Justin Wetherell is a nonbinary flight attendant and flight attendant instructor at Alaska Airlines. As a flight attendant, they have been required to comply with Alaska Airlines鈥 uniform and grooming policies that are grounded in outdated sex stereotypes and conflict with Justin鈥檚 nonbinary gender identity and fluid gender expression. Now Justin and the Washington State Human Rights Commission are fighting to ensure that Alaska Airlines鈥 uniform and grooming policy complies with the Washington State Law Against Discrimination and permits all employees to dress and groom in a professional manner that is consistent with their gender identity and expression.
Summary
The 老澳门开奖结果 (老澳门开奖结果) and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Washington (老澳门开奖结果-WA) represent Justin Wetherell, a flight-attendant and flight-attendant instructor based in Seattle. Justin鈥檚 gender identity is nonbinary and Justin鈥檚 gender expression is fluid. When Justin attends work as a flight-attendant instructor and is not subject to Alaska Airlines鈥 in-flight uniform policy, Justin dresses for work in appropriate business attire while dressing and grooming in a manner that is neither typically male nor female. But when Justin attends work for shifts as a flight attendant, Alaska Airlines requires Justin to adhere to an inflexible uniform policy that forces employees to conform to rigid gender stereotypes.
As Justin describes it: 鈥淲hen I work as a flight attendant, I am forced into one of two standards, often for up to four days at a time. I am willing to follow all of the elements of the uniform policy for professional attire, as I do when I work as an instructor, but I don鈥檛 want to be forced into a binary uniform that excludes me and leads to me being misgendered at work.鈥
In June 2021, the 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果-WA to Alaska Airlines alleging that the airline鈥檚 uniform policy violates Washington state law, which explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity, appearance, behavior, or expression and violates state and federal prohibitions against sex discrimination.
In September 2022, the Washington State Human Rights Commission (Commission) concluded its nearly two-year investigation into Justin鈥檚 allegations and issued a reasonable cause finding of discrimination against Alaska Airlines over the airline鈥檚 policy that requires flight attendants to conform to a rigid set of gendered dress and grooming standards. The Commission found that the airline鈥檚 dress code forced Justin 鈥渢o try fitting into a binary uniform system despite identifying as neither male nor female and making multiple requests for exceptions to the uniform policy that would have allowed them to dress and groom according to their gender identity.鈥
In December 2022, the Commission, represented by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, filed a complaint before the Washington Office of Administrative Proceedings, challenging Alaska Airlines鈥 uniform and grooming policies for violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination. Justin, represented by the 老澳门开奖结果 and 老澳门开奖结果-WA, has also appeared as a party in the litigation and continues to fight for their right to work in a uniform that is professional and consistent with their gender identity and gender expression.
In May 2023, the 老澳门开奖结果, the 老澳门开奖结果 of Washington, and the Washington State Attorney General鈥檚 Office secured a groundbreaking consent decree against Alaska Airlines, requiring Alaska Airlines to remove all gendered restrictions from its uniform policy for flight attendants and to require additional training on gender identity and gender expression. This consent decree favorably resolved the administrative complaint filed by the 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of Washington on behalf of Justin Wetherell, a nonbinary and gender fluid flight attendant and flight attendant instructor at Alaska Airlines.
Legal Documents
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05/01/2023
Consent Decree
Date Filed: 05/01/2023
Court: Washington State Human Rights Commission
Affiliate: Washington
Press Releases
Groundbreaking Consent Decree Requires Alaska Airlines to Change Discriminatory Gendered Uniform Policy
Wash. Attorney General Challenges Discriminatory Gendered Dress Code at Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines鈥檚 Gendered Dress Codes Are Likely Discriminatory, Says WA State Commission on Human Rights
老澳门开奖结果 Tells Alaska Airlines to Stop Discriminating Against Non-Binary and Gender Non-Conforming Flight Attendants