O'Hailpin v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.

• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii
• Writing for the Court: Jill A. Otake, United States District Judge
• Citation: O'Hailpin v. Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., 583 F.Supp.3d 1294 (D. Haw. 2022)
• Decision Date: 02 February 2022
• Docket Number: CIVIL NO. 22-00007 JAO-KJM
• Parties: Riki O'HAILPIN, Nina Arizumi, Robert Espinosa, Erwin Young, Puanani Badiang, Sabrina Franks, and Ronald Lum, on their own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC. and Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., Defendants.

583 F.Supp.3d 1294

Riki O'HAILPIN, Nina Arizumi, Robert Espinosa, Erwin Young, Puanani Badiang, Sabrina Franks, and Ronald Lum, on their own behalf and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,

v.HAWAIIAN AIRLINES, INC. and Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., Defendants.

CIVIL NO. 22-00007 JAO-KJM

United States District Court, D. Hawai‘i.

Signed February 2, 2022

John C. Sullivan, Pro Hac Vice, SL Law PLLC, Cedar Hill, TX, Lloyd James Hochberg, Jr., Topa Financial Center, Honolulu, HI, for Plaintiffs.

Paul Alston, Corianne W. Lau, John S. Rhee, Nickolas A. Kacprowski, Dentons US LLP, Honolulu, HI, for Defendants.

ORDER (1) DENYING PLAINTIFFS’ APPLICATION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND FOR ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WHY PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION SHOULD NOT ISSUE AND (2) GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ APPLICATION TO STRIKE DECLARATION OF FREDERICK REED BATES, II

Jill A. Otake, United States District Judge

This putative class action concerns Defendant Hawaiian Airlines, Inc.’s¹ denial of religious and/or medical exemptions from its COVID-19 vaccine policy, which requires employees to get vaccinated or face termination. Plaintiffs Riki O'Hailpin ("O'Hailpin"), Nina Arizumi ("Arizumi"), Robert Espinosa ("Espinosa"), Erwin Young ("Young"), Puanani Badiang ("Badiang"), Sabrina Franks ("Franks"), and Ronald Lum ("Lum") (collectively, "Plaintiffs") allege that Hawaiian's denial of their requests for medical and/or religious exemptions was discriminatory and retaliatory, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") and Title VII. Plaintiffs request a temporary restraining order ("TRO") and an order to show cause why a preliminary injunction should not issue. ECF No. 17. Hawaiian moves to strike the Declaration of Frederick Reed Bates, II, which is attached to Plaintiffs’ Reply. ECF No. 36.

For the following reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs’ Application for Temporary Restraining Order and for an Order to Show Cause Why Preliminary Injunction Should Not Issue, and GRANTS Hawaiian's Application to Strike the Declaration of Frederick Reed Bates, II, Attached to Plaintiffs’ Reply Brief in Support of Application for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction.

BACKGROUND

I. Factual History

A. Hawaiian's Policies

On August 9, 2021, Hawaiian informed its employees that effective November 1, 2021, it would require all U.S.-based employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, i.e. , employees had to have received the full dosage of the Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen vaccine unless they had a reasonable accommodation for a disability under the ADA or a sincerely held religious belief that conflicted with receiving the vaccine. ECF No. 31-1 ¶ 5. Hawaiian published its vaccine policy on September 17, 2021. ECF No. 1 ¶ 27. Hawaiian then implemented a Transition Period Testing Program ("TPTP"), which enabled employees who remained unvaccinated as of November 1, 2021 to continue working through January 4, 2022, subject to temporary COVID-19 testing procedures. ECF No. 31-1 ¶¶ 7–8. The TPTP was designed in part to give unvaccinated employees time to decide whether to be vaccinated. Id. ¶ 8. It also offered a 12-month unpaid leave of absence ("LOA"), beginning January 5, 2022, for employees who declined to get vaccinated. Id. Employees had to apply for participation in the TPTP by October 24, 2021. Id.

Hawaiian permitted employees to request reasonable accommodations ("RA request") based on disabilities or sincerely held religious beliefs by October 1, 2021, though requests were accepted beyond that. Id. ¶¶ 6–7. Due to the high volume of religious accommodation requests — 500 total — Hawaiian was unable to process all RA requests by the November 1, 2021 vaccination deadline. Id. ¶ 9. To avoid terminating the employees who did not receive a response regarding their RA request by November 1, 2021, however, Hawaiian auto-enrolled them in TPTP as a temporary accommodation. Id. For those employees whose RA requests were denied, Hawaiian reopened the option to request an LOA on November 19, 2021. Id. ¶ 16.

As of January 1, 2022, 95% of Hawaiian's employees were vaccinated. Id. ¶ 12. Several hundred employees whose RA requests were denied remain unvaccinated. Id. ¶ 16. The employees who received exemptions are not guest-facing and can socially distance and wear masks. Id.

By January 5, 2022, unvaccinated employees without an approved accommodation or exemption, or who were not on an LOA, were subject to termination proceedings. Id. ¶ 11.

Unvaccinated employees who were granted an LOA maintain health insurance through the end of the month they begin their leave. Id. ¶ 16. Unvaccinated union employees who did not request an LOA are in held out of service ("HOS") status while they await hearings for their union grievances, and they maintain health benefits. Id. ¶ 17. Unvaccinated union employees who are members of the Airline Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants additionally maintain travel benefits and pay. Id. Non-union unvaccinated employees without an LOA were separated as of January 5, 2022. Id.

B. Plaintiffs²

1. O'Hailpin

O'Hailpin is a flight attendant who has worked for Hawaiian for approximately 24 years. ECF No. 1 ¶ 75. She believes that her body is a "temple of the Holy Spirit and that God had directed her not to take the vaccine" and that the "vaccines were developed using aborted fetal tissue." Id. ¶ 78. O'Hailpin also suffers from antiphospholipid syndrome, which substantially limits her reproductive system. Id. ¶ 83. Her doctors counseled against getting vaccinated due to her condition and risk of blood clots. Id. She submitted RA requests for her religious beliefs and for her medical condition on October 1, 2021 and October 16, 2021, respectively. Id. ¶¶ 78, 82. She received denials of her RA requests on October 13, 2021 and November 2, 2021. Id. ¶ 80; ECF No. 1-6 ¶ 19.

2. Arizumi

Arizumi has worked for Hawaiian as a flight attendant for approximately 11 years. ECF No. 1 ¶ 90. On September 29, 2021, she submitted an RA request for her religious beliefs — a sect of Shintoism adhering to the view that the vaccine "would impurify her body and permanently disable her spirit." Id. ¶ 92. Hawaiian denied her request on October 14, 2021. Id. ¶ 93. On September 30, 2021, Arizumi submitted another RA request based on her medical condition — mitral valve prolapse. Id. ¶ 97. She claims that her doctor strongly recommended that she not get vaccinated. Id. Hawaiian denied her RA request for medical exemption on November 4, 2021. Id. ¶ 99.

3. Espinosa

Espinosa has been a First Officer with Hawaiian for 10 years. Id. ¶ 106. He sought an RA request for religious exemption on September 29, 2021. Id. ¶ 108. He believes that his body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Id. He articulated three reasons in his RA request for objecting to the vaccine — (1) "it would be ungrateful for God's blessing of natural immunity and a healthy immune system"; (2) the vaccines use or were tested on fetal stem cell lines, which desecrates "the sacredness of life"; and (3) through prayer, God showed him that he should avoid the vaccines because not everyone has been truthful about them. Id. As an ordained pastor, Espinosa is committed to avoiding anything that "violates the will of God or goes against His Word." Id. Hawaiian denied his RA request on October 14, 2021. ECF No 1-4 ¶ 11.

4. Young

Young, a lead aircraft technician, has worked for Hawaiian for almost 10 years. ECF No. 1 ¶ 117. He submitted an RA request on September 30, 2021 for his religious beliefs — his body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, and God directed him not to take the vaccine. Id. ¶¶ 119–20. He believes that using anything derived from abortion is sinful, so his opposition to getting vaccinated strengthened when he learned that vaccines were developed using aborted fetal tissue. Id. ¶ 120.

On November 5, 2021, Hawaiian's representatives met with Young to discuss his RA request. Id. ¶ 121. They asked if he could be encouraged to get vaccinated and whether the vaccine contained any ingredients that prevented him from taking it. Id. Hawaiian denied the request on December 16, 2021. Id. ¶ 122.

5. Badiang

Badiang has worked for Hawaiian for 20 years in different capacities, most recently as a corporate training manager. Id. ¶ 129. On September 28, 2021, she submitted an RA request based on her religious beliefs. Id. ¶ 131. As a devout Christian, Badiang claims that she cannot take part in any process relating to or using aborted cells, including vaccination. Id. ¶ 132. On November 1, 2021, Hawaiian's team interviewed Badiang about her request, asking for her church's members’ views about the vaccine and whether she could be persuaded to get vaccinated with the current vaccines or a new version in the future. Id. ¶ 133. On December 14, 2021, she received a denial. Id. ¶ 135.

6. Franks

Franks is a customer service agent who has been in Hawaiian's employ for nearly six years. Id. ¶ 143. On October 1, 2021, she submitted an RA request based on her religious belief that her body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, so she prays and seeks counsel from God about anything entering her body. Id. ¶ 145. Hawaiian met with her on October 20, 2021 and asked whether she previously took vaccines and whether any information about the vaccines would change her mind. Id. ¶ 147. Hawaiian denied Franks's request on December 13, 2021. Id. ¶ 148.

7. Lum

Lum, a Captain, has worked for Hawaiian for 37 years. Id. ¶ 157; ECF No. 1-5 ¶ 2. On October 10, 2021, he submitted an RA request based on his coronary artery disease and his doctor's recommendation against getting vaccinated. ECF No. 1 ¶ 160. Hawaiian denied the request on December 7, 2021. Id. ¶ 161. Lum also submitted an RA request on October 25, 2021 for his religious beliefs that his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit so it would dishonor God to get vaccinated. Id. ¶ 162. On December 17, 2021, Hawaiian sent Lum a denial. Id. ¶ 163.

II. Procedural History

Plainti...