Four former Delta Airlines employees have filed a lawsuit against the airline for firing them for speaking in their native tongue, Korean along with being sexually harassed while working. All four women have a combined 50 years working experience and were all born in Korea. Each woman has handled passengers flying back and forth to South Korea regularly and has worked as gate and desk supervisors for Delta out of Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport.
One of the former employees, Jean Yi that most passengers are Korean-speaking and that they would be at ease when Yi would speak to Korean with them because some did not speak English.
Three out of the four women are U.S citizens and believe they were initially hired by the airline because they were bilingual. Now, they have reason to believe it is the reason they were fired. The lawsuit alleges that “though assigned to work flights to and from Korea, composed of many Korean-speaking passengers, they were singled out and admonished for speaking Korean.”
Jongjin An claims her manager made her aware of complaints of “non-Korean-speaking agents are feeling uncomfortable, so please limit speaking Korean.” However, the women say no other bilingual language-speaking employees were instructed to do the same.
The women also believe their jobs were terminated due to recent complaints they have filed against another employee for sexually harassing them. A male employee, also working for the same airline would touch or grab the women on a daily basis. No motions by their supervisor were ever done after complaints were made. The employee who is under fire for harassment is currently still employed by the airline.
Delta has released a statement following this case:
“Delta does not tolerate workplace discrimination or harassment of any kind. Such behavior runs counter to our core values of diversity and inclusion and our mission of connecting the world. We take allegations of workplace harassment and discrimination very seriously and our investigations into allegations made by these former employees were found to be without merit. These former employees were unfortunately but appropriately terminated because the company determined they violated ticketing and fare rules. Delta is confident that these claims will ultimately be determined to be without merit.”
If you have been a victim of any type of harassment at your place of work whether it be sexual or any kind of discrimination, please call the attorneys at Alonso Krangle LLP at 800-403-6191 or through our website at www.fightforvictims.com. Any unwanted and offensive behavior toward you can result in financial compensation. Please do not hesitate. Call us today to review your legal rights.