Month: January 2022

A 4-year-old Florida boy who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder and has been restricted from flying during the COVID-19 pandemic because he medically can’t wear a face mask filed suit Friday in Boston, Massachusetts, demanding $400,000 in damages from American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. Michael Seklecki Jr. and his dad, Michael Sr., are also asking a federal judge to vacate the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Federal Transportation Mask Mandate, which marks its first anniversary Feb. 1.

Michael Sr. and Michael Jr. of Sanford, Florida, have been denied medical exemptions by the two airlines. They have also have been banned by Frontier Airlines and harassed by Spirit Airlines because Michael Jr. can’t wear a mask. Delta Air Lines is the only carrier that has accommodated Michael Jr.’s disability with a mask waiver, but it refuses to give Michael Sr. an exception. Delta, Frontier, and Spirit are not named in the lawsuit due to settlement talks outside of court regarding the Sekleckis’ discrimination complaints, but Michael Sr. said they might be added to the case later.

A Kentucky man who must fly to California and back for work every 12 days filed suit today against the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention to block the agency’s Federal Transportation Mask Mandate, which has been in effect for nearly a year. The lawsuit also demands nearly $2.2 million in damages from American Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and United Airlines for refusing his medical exemption on numerous flights as part of a conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of the disabled.

Michael Faris, 35, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, medically can’t tolerate wearing a face mask. Faris fainted July 20, 2021, while forced to obstruct his breathing on an American flight from Louisville to Dallas and again Oct. 21, 2021, while in the jetway attempting to board a United flight from Ontario, California, to Denver. United refused to allow him on board. Faris rebooked with American, who then banned him from the airline for requesting a mask exemption at the check-in counter. JetBlue and Southwest also banned Faris when he applied for mask exemptions, canceling his tickets without his consent.

This case is believed to be the first in the nation to challenge CDC’s mask mandate and airlines’ discriminatory policies regarding face coverings in the same lawsuit.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering at its conference today a 4-year-old Florida boy’s emergency application to stay the Transportation Security Administration’s ability to enforce the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate, which is in effect until at least March 18.

The application from Michael Seklecki Jr. (listed as M.S. in legal papers) of Sanford, Florida, who suffers from Autism Spectrum Disorder and can’t medically wear a face covering, is on the justice’s conference agenda today, one day after the Supreme Court halted the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s vaccine or mask/test mandate for all companies employing at least 100 workers. Joining the request are his father, Michael Sr., and Lucas Wall of Washington, D.C., who also medically can’t wear masks.