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A federal appeals court revived a lawsuit brought by two former Alaska Airlines flight attendants who say they were fired after expressing religious objections to the airline’s support for the Equality Act, allowing their religious discrimination claims to proceed.
The Ninth Circuit ruled Wednesday there is sufficient evidence for a jury to determine whether Lacey Smith and Marli Brown were fired because of their religious beliefs, reviving the lawsuit they filed against the airline.
“We are grateful the court recognized the clear evidence of religious discrimination against Marli and Lacey by both Alaska Airlines and the flight attendants’ union,” Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, who argued before the Court back in August 2025, said in a statement.
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Headshot of Lacey Smith. (First Liberty Institute)
“The Ninth Circuit’s decision today reinforces that federal civil rights laws protect people of faith from discrimination by their employer or their union,” Taub added. “You cannot be fired because your employer does not like your religious beliefs.”
In early 2021, Alaska Airlines said it would support the proposed Equality Act on an online internal employee network.
The Equality Act, which was introduced by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sought to add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes in employment, housing, and other capacities under federal civil rights law. It passed the House in February 2021.
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An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane arrives at Los Angeles International Airport on March 7, 2026, in Los Angeles, California. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
The airline asked employees to comment in an online forum for employees, and Smith asked a question, writing, “As a company, do you think it’s possible to regulate morality?”
In the same forum, Brown shared a comment conveying her sincere religious beliefs that the Equality Act would adversely affect women, girls, and people of faith.
Following their comments on the online forum, Smith and Brown were investigated and fired from their jobs, with Alaska Airlines saying that the comments from Smith and Brown were “discriminatory,” “hateful” and “offensive.”
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When flight attendants Marli Brown and Lacey Smith evoked their Christian faith when challenging Alaska Airlines’ support for the Equality Act, they found themselves embroiled in controversy. (Fox News Digital)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Smith said, “Even though the lawsuit is between Alaska and myself, the win in the Ninth Circuit is for a nation of people who have also been facing religious discrimination in the workplace.”
Brown told Fox News Digital, “When I read the decision from the Ninth Circuit, I was overwhelmed with gratefulness. I’m hopeful that with this favorable ruling, no one else will have to go through anything like what I’ve been through.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Alaska Airlines for comment.
Fox News’ Joshua Nelson contributed to this report.
Rachel del Guidice is a culture reporter for Fox News covering the intersection of politics, faith, family, and American culture.
