When an airline is putting safety second and a pilot speaks out, this US airline is not stopping to silence such a pilot by any means over many years.
Delta Airlines is now facing a US Federal Court order to post and deliver a court decision to its 13,500 pilots.
On May 2, 2022, attorneys representing Delta pilot Karlene Petitt filed a motion demanding Delta’s “immediate” compliance with a judge’s order that it post and deliver to 13,500 Delta pilots a whistleblower case that it has now lost twice.
Here is the background:
In its Decision and Order Granting Relief dated December 21, 2020 (D&O), the Tribunal ordered the Respondent, inter alia, to deliver the Tribunal’s decision to its pilots electronically and to post the decision in the workplace both in the interest of the public safety and to mitigate the damage inflicted on Ms. Petitt’s professional reputation, which Respondent had “soiled – perhaps permanently.” With respect to the adverse public safety impact arising from the carrier’s treatment of Ms. Petitt, a letter dated April 15, 2022, from the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) Chairman of the Delta Master Executive Council “insists Delta take immediate remedial steps so that we may hopefully return to the industry-leading safety culture that once existed.” (Seham Decl. Ex. A). Nonetheless, to date, Delta has declined to implement the delivery/posting obligation mandated by the Tribunal.
As the Administrative Review Board noted in its decision of March 29, 2022, affirming the Respondent’s liability in this matter, Delta did not appeal the publication/posting component of the Tribunal’s order and, therefore, the Respondent has forfeited any further right of appeal. In the meantime, Ms. Petitt has suffered continuing damage to her reputation and Delta has ratified the unlawful retaliation of its management employees by declining to take any remedial action and even…