March 4, 2022
4 American Employees Charged for Interfering with Civil Rights of Disabled Who Can’t Wear Masks
Case Involving 4-Year-Old Autistic Boy First in Nation
Where Airline Workers Named as Defendants
March 4, 2022
By LUCAS WALL
BOSTON, Massachusetts – The father of a 4-year-old autistic Florida boy who was refused transportation Feb. 22 by American Airlines from Miami to Boston for a critical medical appointment charged four American employees today with conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of the disabled who can’t medically tolerate wearing face masks. It’s believed to be the first case in the nation where individual airline workers have been named as defendants for their roles in banning the disabled from flying during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michael Seklecki Sr. of Lake Mary, Florida, filed a motion this morning with the federal court in Boston to add as individual defendants Peter Soares, American’s managing director of legal affairs; Irina Spence, a customer care manager in American’s Special Assistance Coordinators Department; Innolene “Doe,” a customer-service agent for American at Miami International Airport who refused to check his son and him in for their flight last month; and Misty “Roe,” a coordinator in American’s Special Assistance Coordinators Department who signed a letter denying Seklecki Sr. a mask exemption for a previous flight Nov. 10, 2021.
As managers, Soares and Spence are charged with violating federal laws prohibiting a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and neglecting to prevent interference with civil rights. Doe and Roe, whose true last names have yet to be determined, are charged with neglecting to prevent interference with civil rights.
“These are the first four of what I expect will be several dozen employees of Defendants American Airlines and Southwest Airlines that I will be adding as their names and roles in the conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of the disabled are discovered,” wrote Seklecki, who suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder. His son, Michael Jr., suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder. “Justice requires the Court begin adding the Individual Defendants to this lawsuit as without their involvement, the conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of the disabled such as my son and myself could not occur. These individuals have a legal duty to stop American’s illegal conduct, but have not taken any actions to do so.”
Lucas Wall, chairman of Americans Against Mask Mandates – a coalition of 600 disabled travelers and their supporters, pilots, and flight attendants fighting to end the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate and airlines’ discriminatory mask policies – said he expects hundreds more airline executives and staffers will be charged in the coming months in numerous lawsuits.
“If you work for an airline and refuse to transport a disabled passenger solely because of his or her medical condition, especially a young child traveling for critical medical care, you are breaking the law,” Wall said. “The discrimination against Americans who can’t tolerate having their face covered and their breathing obstructed has got to stop. Those aviation workers who deprive the disabled of our civil rights will be held accountable in federal court. It’s time for you to speak up and refuse to continue banning us from flying.”
Wall of Washington, D.C., has been stranded in Florida for nine months after the Transportation Security Administration and Southwest Airlines would not allow him to fly maskless June 2, 2021. He has been battling TSA, CDC, HHS, and seven airlines in three federal lawsuits since then, joined by 18 others.
American refused Feb. 22 to board the Sekleckis despite their obtaining a mask-exemption letter from the carrier at the instruction of a federal judge. The family was forced to pay more than triple for last-minute tickets on another airline to ensure Michael Jr. made his appointment at Massachusetts General Hospital the morning of the 23rd.
U.S. District Judge Patti Saris on Feb. 16 directed American Airlines and Southwest Airlines to issue Michael Jr. a letter exempting him from having to a wear a mask while traveling for the next 30 days until more in-depth court proceedings can be held. Seklecki Sr. has asked for preliminary injunctions against the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the Department of Health & Human Services, American, and Southwest to immediately halt their mask enforcement. A hearing is expected sometime after March 9, but has yet to be scheduled.
Michael Jr. must travel to Boston regularly for specialized medical care at Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Michael Sr. filed the lawsuit Jan. 28 and moved for injunctions against the government Feb. 3 and the two airlines Feb. 8. He demands $400,000 in damages from American and Southwest for unlawful discrimination and an end to airlines’ mask policies. He seeks additional compensation from all American and Southwest workers who participated in the conspiracy to deprive disabled passengers of their civil rights.
The case is Seklecki v. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, No. 1:22-cv-10155.
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