ROBERT W. ODELL,JR., et al.,
Plaintiffs,
KEVIN WEBBER; AUSTIN ROBERT ISAAC HUDNUTT;
CHRISTIAN TOUGAS; CHARLES CHRISTIAN GALTON;
ESTATE OF KEVIN MCALLISTER,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
KALITTA AIR, LLC; CONRAD KALITTA, in his official
capacity,
Defendants-Appellees. |
No. 23-1703 |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Bay City.
No. 1:22-cv-12290—Thomas L. Ludington, District Judge.
Argued: March 21, 2024
Decided and Filed: July 9, 2024
Before: BATCHELDER, MOORE, and CLAY, Circuit Judges.
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OPINION
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KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge. During the COVID-19 pandemic and in
response to Executive Order 14042, Kalitta Air, LLC (“Kalitta”) implemented a vaccine mandate
for all of its employees. Kalitta purportedly granted religious and medical accommodations to
the mandate by providing employees with three and twelve months, respectively, of unpaid
leave, after which employees would be terminated if they remained unvaccinated. Eleven
employees, (“Plaintiffs”), including five pilots (the “Pilot Plaintiffs”), sued Kalitta under Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act
(“ADA”), claiming that the mandate discriminated against them on the basis of their religious
beliefs and/or disabled status. The district court found that, because the Pilot Plaintiffs were
subject to a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”), the Railway Labor Act (“RLA”)
precluded it from hearing certain of their Title VII and ADA claims, which must first go through
arbitration as minor disputes. The Pilot Plaintiffs timely appealed. The other six Plaintiffs’
claims are not before this court on appeal. We AFFIRM the district court’s Order regarding the
Pilot Plaintiffs. |