A Meigs County resident is suing United Airlines, alleging the company unlawfully fired her after she sought a religious exemption from receiving a COVID vaccine.
According to a lawsuit filed Dec. 16, United announced a mandatory vaccination policy for its U.S. employees in 2021, including remote workers in supervisory roles. Although she worked entirely from her farmhouse in rural Tennessee, had no contact with customers and visited the company’s offices once every six months, the complaint said, Christina DeBusk was required to get vaccinated unless she requested an exemption.
DeBusk filed a charge of religious discrimination and retaliation with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in July 2022, according to the lawsuit.
About three years later — in August 2025 — the EEOC found reasonable cause that United Airlines discriminated against a class of employees nationwide, including DeBusk, by denying religious accommodations and subjecting them to “subsequent discriminatory actions.”
In September 2025, the agency gave DeBusk permission to file a federal lawsuit against the company.