Alaska Airlines employee alleges the uniform policy discriminates against non-binary and gender non-conforming employees

An Alaska Airlines employee is alleging the airline's uniform policy discriminates against employees whose gender does not fall within the policy's binary "male" and "female" dress and grooming rules, according to a letter by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Justin Wetherell, a flight attendant and flight-attendant instructor based in Seattle, said in an ACLU news release Friday that when working as an instructor, "I am not forced into Alaska Airlines' 'male' or 'female' uniform policies, neither of which fit me because I am non-binary." "But when I work as a flight attendant, I am forced into one of two standards, often for up to four days at a time. I am willing to follow all of the elements of the uniform policy for professional attire, as I do when I work as an instructor, but I don't want to be forced into a binary uniform that excludes me and leads to me being misgendered at work," they said.