The Queen of the Sky is back, with a lawsuite against Delta.
Ex-flight attendant sues Delta over blog
By MIKE TIERNEY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/08/05
A former Delta flight attendant whose slightly naughty photos on a personal Internet blog got her permanently grounded by the airline has fired back.
Ellen Simonetti filed a sex discrimination suit Wednesday against Delta in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, claiming that male colleagues with possibly insensitive material on their own blogs have gone unpunished.
CHARLOTTE B. TEAGLE / Staff
Former Delta flight attendant Ellen Simonetti says in her lawsuit that some male airline employees have personal blogs but have not been punished for them.
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The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages plus reinstatement to her job. She was suspended last September without pay and dismissed a month later.
Dubbed "Diary Of A Flight Attendant," Simonetti's blog, www.queenofsky.net, is the typical mishmash of personal life stories and world views. But it was an assortment of "inappropriate photos" that angered the airline, according to the lawsuit.
One photo shows Simonetti, 30, with her Delta uniform blouse partly unbuttoned, exposing a glimpse of her bra. In another, she is stretched across a row of plane seats, with her skirt somewhat hiked.
None of them "rise to the level of a PG rating for a movie," said her lawyer, Kevin Fitzpatrick.
A Delta spokesman said the airline refrains from commenting on pending litigation.
The case could plow fresh legal ground on whether a company can take action against an employee for operating a blog. Simonetti was featured in a recent People magazine article that mentioned workers who were fired for blog content.
Fitzpatrick maintains that Delta's employee behavior rules make no mention of Internet activity. He and Simonetti contend she was fired as a warning to other airline workers with blogs.
No male Delta employees with blogs have been disciplined, according to the suit. Simonetti pointed out a few that pictured uniformed workers and included mild sexual content.
"The main difference between Ellen and them is chromosomal," Fitzpatrick said.
Simonetti, whose job was based in Atlanta, said she launched the blog partly as therapy to cope with the death of her mother. A day before a scheduled departure to Rome last September, she said, Delta deactivated her.
"I was just in shock. I asked why they didn't give me a warning. They said, 'This is your warning — being suspended.' ... They intimidated and harassed me."
She submitted a sex discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC elected not to sue Delta directly but issued a "right to sue letter."
Her lawsuit also claims Delta sought retribution for her involvement in a drive to unionize flight attendants. The company's attendants ultimately voted against joining a union.
Simonetti, who resides in Austin, Texas, said she has been unable to find work with another airline. A University of Texas graduate, she plans to write a book on her experiences and enroll in culinary school.
Any attention generated by the dispute, she said, has been mostly unwanted.
"I've gotten stalker-type e-mail and phone calls. I have to screen my calls. It's been pretty much all negative."
Fitzpatrick acknowledged that a declaration of bankruptcy by Delta, which has been widely anticipated, would delay the case.
As to the airline's financial hardships, Simonetti said she wishes them no ill will.
"I'd feel real bad if Delta went out of business," she said. "I still have a lot of friends there."
Ex-flight attendant sues Delta over blog
By MIKE TIERNEY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/08/05
A former Delta flight attendant whose slightly naughty photos on a personal Internet blog got her permanently grounded by the airline has fired back.
Ellen Simonetti filed a sex discrimination suit Wednesday against Delta in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, claiming that male colleagues with possibly insensitive material on their own blogs have gone unpunished.
CHARLOTTE B. TEAGLE / Staff
Former Delta flight attendant Ellen Simonetti says in her lawsuit that some male airline employees have personal blogs but have not been punished for them.
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The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages plus reinstatement to her job. She was suspended last September without pay and dismissed a month later.
Dubbed "Diary Of A Flight Attendant," Simonetti's blog, www.queenofsky.net, is the typical mishmash of personal life stories and world views. But it was an assortment of "inappropriate photos" that angered the airline, according to the lawsuit.
One photo shows Simonetti, 30, with her Delta uniform blouse partly unbuttoned, exposing a glimpse of her bra. In another, she is stretched across a row of plane seats, with her skirt somewhat hiked.
None of them "rise to the level of a PG rating for a movie," said her lawyer, Kevin Fitzpatrick.
A Delta spokesman said the airline refrains from commenting on pending litigation.
The case could plow fresh legal ground on whether a company can take action against an employee for operating a blog. Simonetti was featured in a recent People magazine article that mentioned workers who were fired for blog content.
Fitzpatrick maintains that Delta's employee behavior rules make no mention of Internet activity. He and Simonetti contend she was fired as a warning to other airline workers with blogs.
No male Delta employees with blogs have been disciplined, according to the suit. Simonetti pointed out a few that pictured uniformed workers and included mild sexual content.
"The main difference between Ellen and them is chromosomal," Fitzpatrick said.
Simonetti, whose job was based in Atlanta, said she launched the blog partly as therapy to cope with the death of her mother. A day before a scheduled departure to Rome last September, she said, Delta deactivated her.
"I was just in shock. I asked why they didn't give me a warning. They said, 'This is your warning — being suspended.' ... They intimidated and harassed me."
She submitted a sex discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC elected not to sue Delta directly but issued a "right to sue letter."
Her lawsuit also claims Delta sought retribution for her involvement in a drive to unionize flight attendants. The company's attendants ultimately voted against joining a union.
Simonetti, who resides in Austin, Texas, said she has been unable to find work with another airline. A University of Texas graduate, she plans to write a book on her experiences and enroll in culinary school.
Any attention generated by the dispute, she said, has been mostly unwanted.
"I've gotten stalker-type e-mail and phone calls. I have to screen my calls. It's been pretty much all negative."
Fitzpatrick acknowledged that a declaration of bankruptcy by Delta, which has been widely anticipated, would delay the case.
As to the airline's financial hardships, Simonetti said she wishes them no ill will.
"I'd feel real bad if Delta went out of business," she said. "I still have a lot of friends there."