ROBERT W. ODELL, JR., et al., KEVIN WEBBER; AUSTIN ROBERT ISAAC HUDNUTT; CHRISTIAN TOUGAS; CHARLES CHRISTIAN GALTON; ESTATE OF KEVIN MCALLISTER v. KALITTA AIR, LLC; CONRAD KALITTA, in his official capacity, - Articles

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ROBERT W. ODELL, JR., et al., KEVIN WEBBER; AUSTIN ROBERT ISAAC HUDNUTT; CHRISTIAN TOUGAS; CHARLES CHRISTIAN GALTON; ESTATE OF KEVIN MCALLISTER v. KALITTA AIR, LLC; CONRAD KALITTA, in his official capacity,

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Jul 9, 2024

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: John C. Sullivan, S | L LAW PLLC, Cedar Hill, Texas, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Nicholas C. Bart, FITZPATRICK & HUNT & PAGANO, Chicago, Illinois, for Appellees.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: John C. Sullivan, S | L LAW PLLC, Cedar Hill, Texas, Walker Moller, SIRI GLIMSTAD, Austin, Texas, for Appellants.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Nicholas C. Bart, FITZPATRICK & HUNT & PAGANO, Chicago, Illinois, George W. Kelsey, KELSEY LAW GROUP, P.C., Belleville, Michigan, for Appellees.

Judge(s): BATCHELDER, MOORE, and CLAY, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Bay City

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.

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