Hawaiian Airlines Gets Some Workers Dropped From Vaccine Case

Hawaiian Airlines Inc. narrowed a lawsuit alleging it wrongly denied religious exemptions to its Covid-19 vaccine mandate when a federal judge ruled federal labor law preempts two workers’ claims.

Adjudicating the workers’ claims requires interpreting their union’s collective bargaining agreements with Hawaiian, and the Railway Labor Act—which also governs airline work—specifies a different process for resolving that type of dispute, the US District Court for the District of Hawaii said Wednesday.

The lawsuit is among many religious bias cases stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and employer vaccination requirements. The fact-intensive cases have faced a mixed reception in federal courts, with ...