United Airlines Faces Trial After Firing Flight Attendant With Crohn’s Disease… What Happened?
- United Airlines is facing a disability discrimination lawsuit after it terminated a veteran emoployee with Crohn’s disease. A federal judge has just ruled the case can go to trial, and the outcome could have major implications for flight attendant who live with chronic illnesses.
When a United Airlines flight attendant asked her manager for help as a long-term sufferer of Crohn’s disease, she was allegedly rebuffed and told “to do better.” The flight attendant was warned that she faced termination, and that’s exactly what happened in June 2022.
Now, the flight attendant is suing United for disability discrimination, retaliation, and failing to provide her with accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A federal judge has just ruled that the case can go to trial.
At the heart of the dispute is whether ‘dependability’ is an essential function of a flight attendant’s job (ie, showing up for flights on time), and whether this precluded the Chicago-based carrier from offering the crew member time off as a ‘reasonable accommodation.’
United had moved for summary judgment in the case, arguing that the lawsuit should be thrown out. A district judge has ruled in the flight attendant’s favor, allowing all three claims to proceed to trial.
The flight attendant started her career with United in 1999, but in 2010, she was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, and flare-ups meant she would sometimes call out sick. During most of her career, she was able to use FMLA leave for these flare-ups, but in 2022, this all changed.
Crohn’s is a chronic form of inflammatory bowel disease that can be debilitating, with severe stomach cramps, fatigue, unintended weight loss, and persistent diarrhea, just some of the symptoms that sufferers experience during ‘flare-ups.’
While treatment is available to make Crohn’s more manageable, it doesn’t necessarily stop flare-ups altogether, and experiences can vary massively from one person to the next.
Unfortunately, living with Crohn’s is likely to have a big impact on someone’s career. A recent 2025 study in the United States concluded that people with Crohn’s disease have notably higher work absenteeism compared to the wider population.
The flight attendant had managed her absenteeism through the use of FMLA leave, but this requires employees to have worked a minimum number of hours to become eligible. In 2022, the flight attendant had just returned from furlough as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, so she didn’t have any FMLA leave to take.
Having already collected enough attendance points to trigger a Level 4 warning, the flight attendant found herself in a precarious situation. If she acquired just five more attendance points, she faced termination.
Thankfully for the flight attendant, she eventually managed to get her FMLA leave back and used it for her next flare-up. Her physician did not, however, submit the paperwork within the allotted time. As a result, she was given attendance points for this absence, which ultimately led to her dismissal.
The flight attendant claims United discriminated against her when it terminated her employment for her Crohn’s-related absences, but the airline argued that the charge of disability discrimination must fail because the crew member wasn’t actually qualified to perform her job.
How so? Because ‘dependability’ is an essential part of the flight attendant, United claims, and if you can’t be depended upon to show up for your scheduled flights, then you’re not qualified for the job.
The flight attendant, however, says United should have offered her a reasonable accommodation – such as intermittent medical leave. For its part, United claims it did make a “good faith effort” to assist the flight attendant, but she just couldn’t be reasonably accommodated.
“At United, dependability is an essential function of a flight attendant’s job,” the airline argued in its submission to the court to have the case thrown out. “United’s business relies on flight attendants’ regular, predictable attendance.”
Flight attendants who turn up late for a flight or call out sick collect 1-3 points per occurrence. If they reach 30 points or more, they face termination.
The flight attendant in this case had already collected over 25 points by November 2020, and having triggered a Level 4 warning would have needed to remain absence-free for two years before the points dropped off.
“Thankfully for the flight attendant, she eventually managed to get her FMLA leave back and used it for her next flare-up. Her physician did not, however, submit the paperwork within the allotted time. As a result, she was given attendance points for this absence, which ultimately led to her dismissal.”
I manage the Leave program (FMLA, ADA, Short/Long Term Disability) for my employer, a Fortune 500 company. The responsibility to submit paperwork to support the leave request lies solely with the employee. Under the FMLA, the employee has 15 days in which to return the medical certification. In my employers case, we communicate the due date and make it clear that if medical certification is not recieved, normal attendance applies. Given the years that this flight attendant managed her illness, you’d think she would have been standing in her doctor’s office demanding the paperwork be completed. There may be missing facts here, but based on the info presented, the termination appears to be valid.
Maybe she was too sick to stand in her doctor’s office? Sheesh. And diseases like this get worse with time, not better. I have EPI and this year has been unreal bad. Even on medications I still have strange, unexpected events. And I’m retired now at 59 so thankfully I don’t need to report to anyone for work.
Boy, this is a tough call. Seems that the doctor is mostly to blame in this case. If, other than the Crohn’s disease, she is a competent and “dependable”, the company should try to help her keep her job. Now, from their perspective, if she’s on an overseas trip and has a flare up, the company’s in a pickle since there aren’t any reserve flight attendants to call on. The flight can’t depart without the required number of attendants and putting a “spare” in the cabin crew is financially prohibitive. Like I said, this is a tough call. Is there another job within the company that will let her remain in the company but be based at the flight attendant training center?