Four complaints, three firing reasons, zero action – worker sues JetBlue

The complaint alleges her director allowed white colleagues to run her team’s projects, excluded her from decisions affecting her own team, and dismissed her input in favor of less-qualified colleagues. When she communicated assertively, the filing says, it was labeled “aggressive” and “confrontational.” According to the complaint, “similar directness from [her] Caucasian male colleagues was simply accepted as normal and appropriate business communications.”

One rule for her, another for everyone else

One of the more striking allegations involves how JetBlue handled employee discipline.

The complaint says the worker was tasked with managing a white colleague’s performance improvement plan – complete with weekly check-ins, progress documentation, and what the filing describes as significant HR pressure to support the employee through the process. When the worker raised concerns about the extra workload – up to 60 hours a week, the complaint alleges – she says HR told her, in substance, “if this effort of going through the PIP seems like a lot, then you can expect even higher amount of effort on your end towards the final stages of issuing progressive guidance.”

At one point, the complaint alleges, she was even told to withdraw the performance improvement plan because it was “hindering” the employee’s ability to perform.

The contrast with how the worker herself was treated is the heart of the complaint. The filing alleges that when JetBlue moved to discipline the worker, none of the usual steps were followed – no letter of intent, no improvement plan, no coaching sessions. JetBlue’s own process, the complaint alleges, required all of those steps before reaching the stage the worker was placed at.