Pet-friendly policy causes labor disputes! Southwest Airlines flight attendant sued after allergic reaction forced her to fly with cats and dogs

A Southwest Airlines flight attendant who is severely allergic to pet hair and dander is filing a disability discrimination lawsuit in court, accusing the airline of failing to provide reasonable accommodations for her allergy and forcing her to work in a cabin with cats and dogs.

According to the New York Post, Lisa Patterson, a Chicago-based employee who has worked for the airline for more than 25 years, said in the complaint that her allergic reaction to pet hair and dander became a serious problem after Southwest Airlines began allowing small domestic cats and dogs to fly in the cabin in 2018.

About a year after the pet policy was implemented, Patterson wrote to company executives seeking a coordinated solution, saying she would face "serious illness" if she came into contact with these pets in the cabin. However, a few months later, the supervisor responded that he could not provide any coordination, causing the allergic flight attendant to develop symptoms such as "difficulty breathing" when exposed to the pet environment.

The complaint states that although Southwest Airlines implemented a coordination mechanism for allergic flight attendants in 2021, none of the options is truly beneficial for flight attendants with allergies.

Southwest says employees can swap duty stations or flights with other crew members to avoid allergy-triggering pets, or simply go home and forgo pay for that flight. However, it was difficult to get other employees to switch places because many were reluctant to switch with Patterson, and it was equally difficult to find alternative flights that were completely pet-free. Additionally, Patterson's suggestions to supervisors to move pets out of his work area were ignored.

The lawsuit stresses that because the airline failed to properly coordinate his allergy needs, Patterson either lost "a substantial amount of income" or suffered serious illnesses while working on flights carrying pets, requiring him to seek expensive medical care. Patterson argued that Southwest's failure to provide reasonable accommodations regarding his allergies constituted discrimination and required the company to compensate him for lost wages, benefits and seniority, as well as pay his attorney fees.

The report also pointed out that as of press deadline, Southwest Airlines had not responded to requests for response.