FILE - In this July 9, 2019 file photo, people wait in line to enter the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. A divided federal appeals court panel in New Orleans ruled Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022 that a pilot and a flight attendant for United Airlines will suffer irreparable harm under the airlines COVID-19 policy that makes them choose between getting vaccinated in violation of their religious objections or going on unpaid leave. The 5th U.S.
The decision to get vaccinated or go on leave"is an impossible choice for plaintiffs who want to remain faithful but must put food on the table,” said the majority opinion from Jennifer Walker Elrod and Andrew Oldham. “For every conceivable reason that the plaintiffs could lose this appeal, they should,” Smith wrote, saying his fellow panel members' ruling went against laws and court precedents.
And, he said, the employees aren't likely to win. Among the reasons: Smith said the religious discrimination complaint falls because United made efforts to accommodate religious objections of workers, including offering employees alternative jobs not involving the public and unpaid leave as an alternative to being fired.
The Fifth Circuit is rotten.