Elisabeth Serian v. JetBlue Airways Corporation

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
• Decided: March 17, 2026
• Docket: 25-12433
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA11 Case: 25-12433 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 1 of 5

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-12433 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________

ELISABETH SERIAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus

JETBLUE AIRWAYS CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 6:23-cv-02471-JSS-LHP ____________________

Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, and ROSENBAUM and GRANT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: USCA11 Case: 25-12433 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 2 of 5

2 Opinion of the Court 25-12433

Elisabeth Serian appeals the summary judgment in favor of JetBlue Airways Corporation and against her complaint of disabil- ity discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act. See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). Because Serian’s complaint is untimely, we af- firm. I. BACKGROUND Serian was a flight attendant for JetBlue. In April 2020, Jet- Blue adopted a mandatory mask policy for its crewmembers in re- sponse to the COVID-19 pandemic. Serian requested an accommo- dation supported by a physician’s note stating that she could not wear a mask for health reasons. JetBlue denied the request in Au- gust 2020 and offered Serian leave or a position reassignment in- stead. In April 2022, Serian emailed JetBlue’s chief executive officer and stated that she was “done complying to tyranny” and would “no longer be wearing [her] mask on board.” She posted her email on a Facebook page for JetBlue’s crewmembers and encouraged others to join her. JetBlue suspended Serian pending an investiga- tion. During an investigatory meeting on April 18, 2022, Serian pre- sented research on the “adverse effects of prolonged mask usage” and a detailed account of her specific health concerns. JetBlue ter- minated Serian on April 26, 2022, for violating company polices. On October 4, 2022, Serian filed a charge of disability dis- crimination under the Act with the Equal Employment Oppor- tunity Commission in Florida. Serian alleged that JetBlue violated USCA11 Case: 25-12433 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 3 of 5

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the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide her a rea- sonable accommodation. See 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a), (b)(5). The Commission issued a right-to-sue letter that advised Serian that it did not certify her compliance with any statutes. Serian sued JetBlue in the district court. JetBlue moved for summary judgment on the ground that Serian’s complaint was un- timely because the denial of her requested accommodation oc- curred in 2020, but Serian did not file her charge until 2022. The district court granted summary judgment for JetBlue because the complaint was untimely. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW We review a summary judgment de novo and view the evi- dence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Albert v. Ass’n of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, LLC, 130 F.4th 1322, 1326 n.2 (11th Cir. 2025). Summary judgment is appropriate when “‘there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.’” Id. (quoting FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a)). III. DISCUSSION The Americans with Disabilities Act requires a plaintiff to “comply with the same procedural requirements to sue as exist un- der Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” Zillyette v. Cap. One Fin. Corp., 179 F.3d 1337, 1339 (11th Cir. 1999), including the timely filing of a charge of disability discrimination, Maynard v. Pneumatic Prods. Corp., 256 F.3d 1259, 1262 (11th Cir. 2001). A claimant must file a charge of discrimination with the Commission within 180 USCA11 Case: 25-12433 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 4 of 5

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days of an unlawful employment practice or 300 days if the com- plainant first files with an agency in a deferral state, such as Florida. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1); Maynard, 256 F.3d at 1262. Filing a timely charge is a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit under the Act. Maynard, 256 F.3d at 1262. Serian’s complaint is untimely. JetBlue denied her request in August 2020. Because Serian did not file her charge with the Com- mission until October 2022—more than two years later—she failed to timely file a charge of discrimination. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1); Zillyette, 179 F.3d at 1339; Maynard, 256 F.3d at 1262. Serian raises three arguments. She contends that the Com- mission’s right-to-sue letter constitutes prima facie evidence of the timeliness of her claim, that her claim is otherwise timely under the doctrines of equitable tolling and continuing violations, and that JetBlue violated the Act by refusing to provide her a reasonable ac- commodation. These arguments fail. First, the Commission’s letter does not establish timeliness. It contained no such finding and explicitly advised Serian that it did not certify her compliance with any statutes. In any event, even if the Commission had made a finding of timeliness, the district court would not have been bound by it. See, e.g., Moore v. Devine, 780 F.2d 1559, 1564 (11th Cir. 1986) (“[W]here, as here, the employee files a complaint asking the district court to consider the case on the mer- its . . . of the very claims resolved by the [Commission], he or she USCA11 Case: 25-12433 Document: 23-1 Date Filed: 03/17/2026 Page: 5 of 5

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cannot complain when the district court independently resolves the claims on the merits.”). Second, because Serian raised equitable tolling for the first time on appeal, that argument is not properly before us. Access Now, Inc. v. Sw. Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1331 (11th Cir. 2004) (“This Court has repeatedly held that an issue not raised in the dis- trict court and raised for the first time in an appeal will not be con- sidered by this court.” (citations and internal quotation marks omit- ted)). And the doctrine of continuing violations does not cover dis- crete acts of discrimination, such as the denial of an accommoda- tion. See Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 114 (2002). JetBlue’s denial of Serian’s request for an accommodation in 2020 was a discrete act for which any claim of discrimination ac- crued. Serian failed to establish that any new violation occurred in April 2022 to make her complaint timely. Her email to JetBlue’s chief executive officer was not a request for an accommodation; it was instead a declaration that she was “done complying to tyr- anny.” And her statements during the investigatory meeting about her research on mask usage and her personal health concerns were not a request for an accommodation. Because Serian’s complaint is untimely, we do not reach the merits of it. IV. CONCLUSION We AFFIRM the summary judgment in favor of JetBlue.