A Delta Air Lines captain has won a complete legal victory when the company finally threw in the towel on a six-year dispute that one judge said “weaponized” a mental health investigation against her. As we reported in 2020, Capt. Karlene Petitt was awarded $500,000 by a Labor Department tribunal. The airline was also forced to reinstate her as an international captain after determining airline executives plotted to use a bogus bipolar disorder diagnosis to bar her from flying. The action came after Petitt, who was working on a doctoral thesis, submitted a 43-page report critical of Delta’s safety culture. The airline paid a since-discredited doctor $76,000 to supply the diagnosis, which was twice refuted, including by a panel of Mayo Clinic experts. Delta vowed to appeal the award in the name of safety but made a “business decision” and folded its case last week.
Whistle blowers must know they’re treading on thin ice–particularly within private industries–if they criticize the management, or working conditions. Even unions will have an uphill battle defending members who face such opposition after they’re fired, suspended or demoted. We should all applaud this effort and the outcome, but this should be a cautionary example of how rocking the boat is risky business.
She got more than the cash. She got reinstated as a trans-oceanic captain. If the settlement is public, we can see, but most of these will carry a non-disclosure. There’s probably back pay and benefits costs. She also has a Delta that will be very careful when it tries to get rid of her again. She will go back to a hostile work environment, but DL will be worried about losing another lawsuit. And she likely completed her Ph.D. and post-doc. Never good for anyone, but this case is a warning for everyone from your local flight instructor to the CEO of the majors to behave. Unfortunately there will be another coming to a airport near you, someday sooner than later.
I see FOUR stripes on her shoulders. Delta should be ashamed, and needs to be punished more. As an aside, her settlement is tax-free, but her lawyers earned every penny they got. I hope Delta’s attorneys overcharged the airline.
Agreed, her gross income should have been in the 1.2 million range over 6 years. Was the 500K punitive award on top of back pay? No attorney fees awarded? I’d say Delta won this one.
Great! Congratulations for this brave woman! Beat it lady! Beat it hard! Corruption has no place in America! well, it’s spread all over…Looks like brave people start to pop up all over America! yay! there’s hope!
“The airline paid a since-discredited doctor $76,000 to supply the diagnosis…”
So, first, this “doctor” needs to loose his/her license if, in fact, they were discredited for this or some other misdeed.
Second, this “doctor” also needs to be sued by Capt. Petitt (especially if it can be shown that the doc knew they were rubber stamping the airline’s opinion in exchange for money).
Yeah, a safety “whistle blower” at an airline that has the safest record over the period of this first officer’s employment (she wasn’t a captain, her PhD comes from an online program at Embry Riddle, and the paltry award speaks volumes).
Mental fitness is a huge issue for all airlines, especially after the high profile case of a pilot deliberately crashing his Airbus and killing everyone onboard.
Dealing with a pilot suspected of a mental illness requires a very delicate balance between respecting the rights of the pilot with the need to ensure they are safe to operate as a crew member.
Mishandled, as it was apparently done by Delta is not good. Obviously not good for the individual involved but also not good for the company culture. A company culture where pilots think management will as the judge noted “weaponize” mental health investigations, is not conductive to pilots reporting potential mental health issues so they can get help.
Six years? It appears Delta concocted a scheme to hammer her because of the the Ph.D thesis and since they went “woke” awhile back I will NOT be flying with them. They should be ashamed but won’t be. Wonder what THEIR legal fees were? She is back flying and that’s good for her.
Lets just say I have a lot of inside information about this company. It’s become one of the “wokest” companies in the US. They tried to force employees to wear BLM pins on uniforms during the peak of the 2020 summer riots. That should tell you all you need to know.
Lol. Whistleblowers in most private companies are risking their careers and finances. The real brave ones are in the military or government risking life and freedom. ?