Flight attendant with AIDS fired by United Airlines for going to the doctor too often, lawsuit says

A longtime United Airlines flight attendant battling AIDS claims he was fired for taking sick days to see the doctor or otherwise tend to his declining health, which the carrier deemed “excessive medical absences,” according to state and federal court filings obtained by The Independent.

Timothy Panzl, 62, began working for United in October 1990 and was diagnosed with AIDS in 2002, his complaint explains. From then on, it says Panzl, a San Diego resident, was forced to call out roughly twice a month “for worsening health or medical appointments.”

This continued for more than two decades without major issue, according to the complaint, which maintains Panzl got approval for his days off and always provided a doctor’s note when he returned. But when he called out sick before a trip in June 2023, Panzl was informed he had been removed from the schedule, according to the complaint. He was then put under disciplinary investigation, and soon received a letter from management that said his “dependability record warrants termination.”

“Your actions were inconsistent with the Working Together Guidelines in the areas of professionalism – communicate and perform all duties in a safe, courteous, helpful, competent dependable and businesslike manner; and working dependably – keep your attendance regular and arrive at work at the time and on the day you are scheduled,” the letter read.

Panzl was stripped of all travel privileges, and instructed to FedEx back his crew badge and ID card, parking permit, company-issued flashlight and iPhone, battery packs, charging cables and “United blue protective cover and phone storage case.”

The complaint, which was initially filed June 5 in California Superior Court before being removed to San Diego federal court on August 8, says Panzl had “never been given any warning prior to his termination,” and that he had requested “approximately the same amount of excused absences as he had done for the past 21 years.”

Attorney Mahru Madjidi, one of the lawyers representing Panzl, told The Independent that United “unlawfully punished” his client after nearly 33 years of service.

“Instead of honoring their duty to accommodate his disability, which they had in the past, they in turn weaponized it to justify his sudden firing,” Madjidi said. “We hope to hold United accountable for their actions against a dedicated employee who was forced to choose between his health and his livelihood.”

United did not respond to a request for comment.

Last year, an HIV-positive flight attendant for American Airlines sued the carrier after being sacked in a near-identical case to Panzl’s. In 2017, a Delta employee with HIV was awarded $1.3 million following his termination for missing two days of work due to his illness. Five years earlier, an HIV-positive Delta baggage handler sued the airline over his firing, also allegedly for taking time off to deal with his health issues.

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 forbids discrimination against people with all manner of afflictions, including HIV and AIDS. To bring an ADA lawsuit against an employer, the aggrieved party must initially file an administrative complaint with authorities; Panzl preceded his own suit against United by first bringing his accusations to the California Civil Rights Department, which then issued him a so-called right-to-sue letter.

Over the course of Panzl’s career as a flight attendant, he always “showed consistent dedication and performed his job excellently,” according to his complaint.

It says his AIDS diagnosis “impacted major life activities,” and Panzl “required reasonable accommodation and an interactive process.” However, United uses a points system to monitor employee attendance, and once someone hits 30 points during a rolling 12-month period, they are issued a letter of investigation, pending discharge.

Despite Panzl’s medical status, which the complaint says were “excused due to his disabilities,” he was “consistently penalized with points for his absences.” According to the complaint, United instead “used his disability and age as grounds for terminating his employment.”

However, United has a slightly different take on the situation.

In Panzl’s termination letter, which United filed in court last week as part of the company’s motion to dismiss, it says he failed to show up for his initial investigatory meeting on July 11, then appeared at a rescheduled sit-down on July 17, where he and representatives from both United and the flight attendants’ union discussed the situation.

According to the letter, Panzl had previously received four attendance warnings: the first on July 20, 2021, for 6 points; the second on September 2, 2021, for a total of 12 points; the third on November 14, 2021, for a total of 18 points; and the fourth on October 29, 2022, for 25 cumulative points.

Panzl’s points exceeded the maximum of 30 points when, the letter asserts, he missed a June 22 trip he was scheduled to work, and didn’t call out sick until after his shift had already started.

For his part, Panzl told his supervisor that he had tried to call twice, unsuccessfully, fell asleep, then tried to call a third time, but that his company-issued “LINK” device, which lets United employees message each other, had malfunctioned. The supervisor then reminded Panzl that the LINK devices don’t make or receive phone calls, and asked him to provide phone records proving that he had indeed attempted to call in, according to the letter.

“During our meeting you stated you were confused and couldn’t provide us any additional information,” the letter said. “You were unable to provide any phone records of attempting to call out sick.”

The letter, which was written by a United inflight absence supervisor, concluded by telling Panzl he had been “properly assigned” the points in each instance, and referenced the union’s collective bargaining agreement which states: “A Flight Attendant will be subject to discharge if she/he accumulates 30 or more points.”

In its request for the case to be thrown out, United further contends that Panzl failed to show a “causal nexus” between his firing and his claim of age and disability discrimination, that the legal theories in his complaint are unsupported by the facts, and that he never formally requested an accommodation for his disability.

Panzl’s complaint accuses United of, among other things, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to provide reasonable accommodation, wrongful termination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“As a proximate result of defendants’ extreme and outrageous conduct, plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer humiliation, emotional distress, and mental and physical pain and anguish,” his complaint states.

Panzl is demanding a jury trial, with damages to be determined in court.