Women Are 'Better’: Airline Fined By MN After Refusing To Hire Man

ST. PAUL, MN — The Minnesota Department of Human Rights fined an airline for violating state civil rights law after investigators found it refused to hire a man as a flight attendant because of his sex.

The agency said it reached a settlement with Key Lime Air, which operates flights in Thief River Falls, requiring the airline to pay about $45,000 and revise its hiring policies to prevent discrimination.

"In Minnesota, we know that work should provide for food and warmth in our homes and our communities, not discrimination. And we’ve worked hard to eliminate the notion that certain jobs ought to be performed by a woman or a man," said Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero.

"Minnesota’s civil rights laws require workplaces to proactively prevent and address discrimination because both employers and employees are stronger when civil rights laws are followed."

The man initially worked for Key Lime as a station agent in 2022 and later applied to fill a standby flight attendant role.

He filed a complaint in June 2023 after being told the company did not hire men for flight attendant positions, the Star Tribune reported.

According to the investigation, the man emailed the company's human resources director asking if the airline would reconsider its women-only hiring policy. The director replied that they didn’t think it would, and he never heard back. He was fired that spring.

State investigators found that between 2022 and 2024, Key Lime Air had employed 45 flight attendants, all women, and acknowledged that it had never hired a man for the position. The company told investigators it believed women were "better" than men for the role.

In a statement to the Star Tribune, Key Lime said it had "reached an amicable resolution" with the state agency, denied wrongdoing, and said it remains committed to fair and inclusive hiring practices.