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DALLAS (LifeSiteNews) — Southwest Airlines must turn over documents to a judge as part of a contempt accusation made against the company from a pro-life flight attendant who previously won her case against the corporation.

Charlene Carter previously won a $5.1 million judgment against Southwest and the Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) in July 2022 after she was fired from her job six years ago for objecting to her local union’s support for abortion, LifeSiteNews previously reported. A judge ruled in December that Carter must also get her job back, as previously reported by LifeSiteNews.

Now, Southwest finds itself in more legal trouble. Carter and her attorneys with the National Right to Work Foundation (NRTW) allege that the religious freedom rights of all employees are not being respected, in violation of the court rulings.

“Southwest discriminated against flight attendants’ religious practices and beliefs on social media concerning abortion, criticized Carter for her religious beliefs and practices, and discriminated against her [Railway Labor Act-protected] speech,” a filing from Carter’s attorneys stated. “Southwest chilled and restrained flight attendants’ exercise of religious practices and beliefs by insisting that their exercise must be courteous, ominously warning flight attendants that the company will decide what is courteous, and characterizing Carter’s exercise of religious practices and beliefs as unacceptable and not courteous.”

The December 2022 filing led the judge to set a hearing for May to hear more about Southwest’s treatment of Carter.

District Judge Brantley Starr set a May date for a hearing on “whether Southwest, its employees, or its counsel should be held in contempt and sanctioned for violating the Court’s orders (1) not to discriminate against flight attendants’ religious practices and beliefs expressed on social media, (2) not to discriminate against Carter’s speech protected by the Railway Labor Act, and (3) to inform Southwest flight attendants that, under Title VII, it ‘may not’ discriminate against Southwest flight attendants for their religious practices and beliefs.”

Southwest attorneys must produce all communications that relate to how the company informed personnel of the court order and their rights.

NRTW president Mark Mix criticized Southwest in a media statement shared with LifeSiteNews.

“Instead of working to end their discriminatory practices following a District Court order and a multimillion-dollar jury verdict against them and the TWU union, Southwest Airlines officials appear to be doing the exact opposite by effectively denying any history of discrimination and implying that employees who are vocal about their beliefs might still be under the company gun,” Mix said. “No American employee should have to fear reprisals for speaking their conscience at work, and the District Court’s order is another step towards holding Southwest accountable for its refusal to admit and fully remedy its illegal actions.”

Southwest did not respond to a request for comment Thursday morning from LifeSiteNews.

This is the latest part of a 10-year battle concerning Carter’s rights.

Carter rescinded her membership in 2013 when she became aware that her union dues were being used to fund groups and ideologies that cut against her religious beliefs, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.

Despite pulling out of her membership, however, she was reportedly still required to pay fees to the union “as a condition of her employment,” according to NRTW.

In 2017, Carter became aware that the local union’s president had put employees’ union dues toward attending the “Women’s March on Washington D.C.,” which was partially sponsored by abortion industry giant Planned Parenthood.

Southwest reportedly called Carter in for a mandatory meeting to discuss “Facebook posts they had seen,” including her pro-life messages after she used social media to criticize the union.

“Carter explained her religious beliefs and opposition to the union’s political activities,” the NRTW press release said.

Southwest authorities also allegedly responded by telling Carter that the union president had been “harassed” by Carter’s social media posts. A week later, the airline reportedly terminated Carter’s employment, leading to this ongoing legal battle.

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