Special to WorldTribune.com
By Christine Dolan, October 9, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court denied United Airlines’ writ of certiorari in the landmark religious liberty COVID-19 mandate lawsuit, Sambrano v. United Airlines this week.
The decision affects an historic class action lawsuit regarding religious discrimination involving United Airlines’ Aug. 6, 2021 decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for all its U.S.-based employees.
NBC’s Lester Holt, left, and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby / Screenshot
It is a legal victory for the plaintiffs that allows the lawsuit to proceed to jury trial after United Airlines exhausted its legal attempts to block this class action lawsuit.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision reinforces a sweeping Fifth Circuit appellate ruling certifying the class of airline employees placed on indefinite, unpaid leave for requesting religious accommodations in lieu of the airline’s vaccine mandate policy.
The highest court’s order, issued on Oct. 5, 2026, rejected United’s attempt to dismantle the class action structure, leaving intact the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit March 9, 2026, decision, which affirmed U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman’s initial class order/definition.
In March 2026, the appellate court ruled the pilots, flight attendants, and gate agents affected may collectively pursue accountability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This decision affirms the lower court ruling. This multi-year litigation now reverts to the Northern District of Texas, Hon. Judge Pittman’s court to proceed to a jury trial.
Former United Airline’s pilot, Captain Laura Cox, Founder of Airline Employees 4 Health Freedom, stated:
“This monumental victory for religious liberty and Title VII employee rights cleared the final procedural hurdle, ensuring the class members’ voices will be heard in a court of law. This guarantees those who stood against this tyranny will be heard by a jury of their peers. They look forward to holding United and its CEO accountable for the disruption of their lives and financial coercion forced upon them.”
The plaintiffs are aggressively pursuing full financial restitution, back pay, punitive damages, and reimbursement of attorney fees.
United Airlines’ CEO Scott Kirby, who is also a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, spoke out frequently and proudly to the public and media in 2021 and 2022 when he made the decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccines.
Some employees’ religious exemptions were denied and when they still refused to take the shots, they were fired. Others were accommodated and immediately placed on indefinite unpaid leave. Some were not allowed access to their 401(K) accounts as they had been while furloughed in 2020.
Christine Dolan is a veteran broadcast and print journalist. She is the author of Urban Legends, her third book on human trafficking. It addresses medical trafficking in light of Covid vaccine-injured, the Covid origin coverup, and transgenderism. She serves on the advisory board of the Free Press Foundation.
