ACLU and United Airlines Announce Settlement of Case on Behalf of Plaintiffs Assem Bayaa and American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

June 17, 2005 12:00 am

Media Contact
125 Broad Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10004
United States

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@aclu.org

LOS ANGELES — The American Civil Liberties Union and United Airlines announced today that they have reached a settlement in a lawsuit brought on behalf of Assem Bayaa and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), charging that the airline discriminated against Bayaa by removing him from a flight. While United disputes Bayaa’s and ADC’s allegations, the parties agree that settlement of this claim is in the best interest of all.

United has previously worked, per a settlement agreement reached with the United States’ Department of Transportation on a similar subject, to develop and administer comprehensive training to its employees on the topic of Equal Treatment of Customers. ADC and its affiliated organizations, ADC Research Institute and the ADC Law Enforcement Outreach Program, assisted United in developing the content for the training. The American Civil Liberties Union applauds United for the message it is sending its employees on this important topic through the Training and has recommended to its clients, Bayaa and the ADC, to resolve this case in recognition of United’s industry leading efforts in this regard.

United is committed to providing service without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, race, religion or national origin.

Every month, you'll receive regular roundups of the most important civil rights and civil liberties developments. Remember: a well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.

Learn More About the Issues in This Press Release