Female pilot suing former employer after being told she's 'too short' to fly; Gloria Allred represen

I am so disappointed in you people. We are 42 posts in and not one of you has questioned this woman's dreams. What kind of pilot names flying for NetJets as his or her "dream job"?
 
Zeldman said:
My wife is 4' 9". Just try to tell her she can't do something. I mean something besides getting stuff off the top shelf.....
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My GF is taller than me, and I'm 5' 11". She gets high-shelf stuff for me, then gloats.
 
Gerhardt said:
1. I'm surprised at the hostility toward her....
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Folks point out that we may not have all the facts, which is generally true, but then some of them go on to make up their own facts and judge her based on that. :rolleyes1:
 
She was probably not doing well in training, and instead of having her take the checkride and fail, and having that on her permanent record, they used the "too short" as an excuse for a mercy killing. That will probably never happen again.

iamtheari said:
I am so disappointed in you people. We are 42 posts in and not one of you has questioned this woman's dreams. What kind of pilot names flying for NetJets as his or her "dream job"?
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I had the exact same thought!!!
 
Groundpounder said:
She was probably not doing well in training, and instead of having her take the checkride and fail, and having that on her permanent record, they used the "too short" as an excuse for a mercy killing. That will probably never happen again.
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It's interesting how we're so predisposed to disbelief those we perceive as "losers of the game who won't display grace" aka "whiners".

Sure, it could be that... or it could be a legitimate mishandling of an HR situation by a shady employer (reference posts about Netjets being anyone's dream job, that jab didn't come from just anywhere) who miscalculated the degree to which said faux pax would cause them grief, since they're accustomed to treating their hiring as a AAA farm team talent pool affair in the first place, good bad or indifferent. The lawsuit will tell I suppose. I'm not predisposed to disbelief the plaintiff just because she's a "whiner" or an "interloper" in the eyes of the socio-political inclinations of the majority demographic of pro pilots. Let's see what the suit brings about.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
No argument. But the men were given the opportunity to train on other airplanes, she was not.
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She was not disqualified for the same reason as they were.

Perhaps the other planes would have been even more problematic for her stature, whereas the "too tall" men would fit better in those planes.

For me, as a short person, it seems a simple thing to adapt and overcome a deficit of height. Wear shoes and or a cushion and get 'er done.

As a trainee, I'm not going to ask what my employer is going to do until I've done all that I can do.
 
The courts have already sided with the FAA on medical requirements. ADA doesn't require relaxing them.
 
Groundpounder said:
Not bad compared to what?
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There’s a ton a crappy 135 and 91 gigs out there. Many would consider it better than a regional. I agree that ‘dream’ is probably a little strong and is likely being used to help drum up sympathy for the lawsuit, but this isn’t APC. Not every job sucks simply because it’s not Delta or FedEx. :)
 
Salty said:
She was not disqualified for the same reason as they were.

Perhaps the other planes would have been even more problematic for her stature, whereas the "too tall" men would fit better in those planes.
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That's possible. But I would expect looking into whether she could fit into other models known to be operated by Netjets to be a due diligence step before the suit was filed.

For me, as a short person, it seems a simple thing to adapt and overcome a deficit of height. Wear shoes and or a cushion and get 'er done.

As a trainee, I'm not going to ask what my employer is going to do until I've done all that I can do.
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Sounds like they told to do just that and then fired her the next day.
"I was told by NetJets, 'Go buy a booster seat. Wear platform shoes. Just make it work,'" the plaintiff recalled.
Instead, she was “blindsided” with termination of her employment the next day, the suit states.
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Juliet Hotel said:
That's possible. But I would expect looking into whether she could fit into other models known to be operated by Netjets to be a due diligence step before the suit was filed.

Sounds like they told to do just that and then fired her the next day.
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You left out this part

"I went to a meeting the next day, expecting to be transferred to another airplane.
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Seems like she didn’t attempt to adapt As they requested. She went in dictating terms.
 
Salty said:
Seems like she didn’t attempt to adapt As they requested. She went in dictating terms.
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Anticipating that something will go a certain way is not the same as demanding it.
 
Salty said:
Seems like she didn’t attempt to adapt As they requested.
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How much adapting were they expecting overnight?

She went in dictating terms.
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Maybe, but there's still a lot of making up our own facts going on in this thread.
 
If I show up to a construction job without a hard hat after being told I need a hard at, should I expect to remain employed?
 
Palmpilot said:
How much adapting were they expecting overnight?



Maybe, but there's still a lot of making up our own facts going on in this thread.
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There's stores everywhere that sell cushions to sit on. 16 hours is plenty of time to get one.
 
I noticed it was the instructor who said her legs were too short to operate the pedals safely...I wonder what her training record says, and/or what that conversation actually was (the quoted portion could fit into any number of actual sentences).
 
EdFred said:
There's stores everywhere that sell cushions to sit on. 16 hours is plenty of time to get one.
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Was she supposed to bring the cushion to the meeting? Maybe, but we just don't know.

The human mind just hates to say "I don't know" about anything. The urge to fill in unknowns with assumptions is often irresistible to many people.
 
Palmpilot said:
Was she supposed to bring the cushion to the meeting? Maybe, but we just don't know.

The human mind just hates to say "I don't know" about anything. The urge to fill in unknowns with assumptions is often irresistible to many people.
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Let's just say that I'm suspicious of people who get a high-profile lawyer, sue, and go to the media over something like this. There has to be more to it.
 
Juliet Hotel said:
Anticipating that something will go a certain way is not the same as demanding it.
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Why would you anticipate they give you a different plane when they already told you to adapt to the plane you're in?
 
Palmpilot said:
How much adapting were they expecting overnight?



Maybe, but there's still a lot of making up our own facts going on in this thread.
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I agree, we don't know enough to say, but we only have her side of the story, but even it appears to show that she wasn't interested in making it work.
 
Palmpilot said:
Was she supposed to bring the cushion to the meeting? Maybe, but we just don't know.

The human mind just hates to say "I don't know" about anything. The urge to fill in unknowns with assumptions is often irresistible to many people.
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The fact that she says nothing about trying to comply or wanting to comply and not being given a chance, but instead she "expected to be reassigned" is what I'm going on. Obviously, the article may be missing those facts.
 
Everskyward said:
Let's just say that I'm suspicious of people who get a high-profile lawyer, sue, and go to the media over something like this. There has to be more to it.
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Plus what message does it send to future employers?
 
Salty said:
Why would you anticipate they give you a different plane when they already told you to adapt to the plane you're in?
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Why does it matter what I or her or anyone else would anticipate? What right does an employer have to fire someone because they anticipated something?
 
Juliet Hotel said:
Why does it matter what I or her or anyone else would anticipate? What right does an employer have to fire someone because they anticipated something?
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If she went in with an attitude that they should be assigning her to another plane and was not taking any measures to deal with HER deficiency, then I think they have every right to fire her. I don't know that's what happened, but as I said, I see nothing that shows she tried to fix her problem - which an employer has every right to expect.
 
Salty said:
The fact that she says nothing about trying to comply or wanting to comply and not being given a chance, but instead she "expected to be reassigned" is what I'm going on. Obviously, the article may be missing those facts.
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As far as I know, providing both sides of the story is not in the job description of her attorney.
 
Palmpilot said:
As far as I know, providing both sides of the story is not in the job description of her attorney.
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Exactly. And yet she still she comes off as not doing her job IMO.
 
yeah, who knows what went on behind the scenes, but if she hired Gloria Allred, then I already have my suspicions as to the character of this "victim"

Why didn't she go in to her job prepared to deal with her height situation? That can be the first time it's ever been an issue. She shouldn't have to be told to buy a cushion. She should own one so that she can fly responsibly and safely. Had she never been in a Phenom before? Doubtful. She was looking for something.

And this was two years ago? Pffft.

I really need to be a judge in the court system. "Accept some personal responsibility. Case dismissed."
 
Juliet Hotel said:
Why does it matter what I or her or anyone else would anticipate? What right does an employer have to fire someone because they anticipated something?
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As I said earlier, if I show up to a construction site without a hard hat after being told to wear a hard hat, I should be be fired. I shouldn't show up and expect to get or anticipate getting a management position because I didn't bring a hard hat.
 
Salty said:
Exactly. And yet she still she comes off as not doing her job IMO.
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I think I would need to read the briefs filed with the court in order to form an opinion on that.
 
MetalCloud said:
yeah, who knows what went on behind the scenes, but if she hired Gloria Allred, then I already have my suspicions as to the character of this "victim"

Why didn't she go in to her job prepared to deal with her height situation? That can be the first time it's ever been an issue. She shouldn't have to be told to buy a cushion. She should own one so that she can fly responsibly and safely. Had she never been in a Phenom before? Doubtful. She was looking for something.

And this was two years ago? Pffft.
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Did they tell her that she was supposed to show up at the MEETING with a cushion?

I really need to be a judge in the court system. "Accept some personal responsibility. Case dismissed."
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I don't think pre-judging a case like that is a good qualification for being a judge!
 
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