Suit Against FAA By Employee Disciplined for Remarks About Gays Is Settled

A settlement stipulation (full text) has been filed with a Georgia federal district court in Dombrowski v. Federal Aviation Administration. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2006, alleges that the FAA violated a supervisory employee's speech, equal protection and due process rights, as well as his rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, when it suspended plaintiff without pay for 10 days because of conversations he had with non-supervisory employees about religious denominations and about his views on homosexuality. His notice of suspension said that he expressed views, including stereotypes, inappropriate for the workplace. (Full text of complaint.) The settlement agreement calls for the FAA to distribute to all employees in its regional office a copy of Guidelines on Religious Exercise and Expression in the Workplace, originally issued by the White House in 1997. The FAA will also amend plaintiff's attendance records and will pay $9000 in attorneys fees for plaintiff. Alliance Defense Fund issued a release yesterday announcing the settlement.