A former employee has filed a federal lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging the company discriminated against them on the basis of race and age.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas, claims that Jasmine Henderson, a 57-year-old Black woman who worked as a customer service agent for American for over 15 years, was passed over for several promotions in favour of younger, white employees with less experience and qualifications.
According to the complaint, Henderson applied for at least six different supervisory roles between 2019 and 2022 for which she met or exceeded all listed job requirements. However, she was rejected each time while the positions went to “less qualified and less experienced non-Black employees who were decades younger than her.”
The lawsuit alleges this represented a pattern of racial and age discrimination by the airline’s leadership against Henderson and other minority employees. It accuses Americans of cultivating “an environment of cronyism” where supervisors preferentially promote candidates based on race and age rather than merit.
Henderson, who was terminated from America in October 2022, is seeking compensation for lost wages and benefits as well as punitive damages for the “emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life” caused by the discrimination.
In a statement, American Airlines said it “has a steadfast and well-established practice of making hiring decisions without regard to age or race,” adding that the company is “confident that the facts will vindicate our established policies of inclusivity and non-discrimination once they are presented in court.”
The lawsuit comes amid increasing scrutiny over diversity and inclusion efforts at major U.S. companies, particularly in the airline industry which has historically struggled with underrepresentation of racial minorities and women in leadership roles.
