U.S. Airways is being accused of being racist after they refused to let two young black men into first class until they changed their clothes, while other passengers were allowed to wear similar outfits.
McCraig and Miles Warren are suing U.S. Airways for discrimination following an incident in which they claim they were told that they had to change into more appropriate attire before boarding a plane in Denver, the Daily Mail reports.
In a federal discrimination lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the men claim that a U.S. Airways employee repeatedly the brothers that their jeans, hooded sweatshirts and baseball hats went against the first-class dress code and that they needed to change.
The employee told them to change into button-down shirts, dress shoes and dress pants. They were told that this was the airline's policy for sitting in first class.
McCraig and Miles Warren went into the airport bathroom and changed before boarding the flight heading for Los Angeles. However upon boarding, they were surprised to find that other passengers were also wearing jeans and hooded sweatshirts. One man was Caucasian and the other was Filipino.
McCraig and Miles Warren spoke to the other two men and they found that they were not told to change their clothes before boarding the plane or at any time during the flight.
The Warrens claim that they were shocked, humiliated and confused by the incident and the discrimination. They are now seeking punitive damages.
U.S. Airways responded to the incident, saying, "We welcome customers of all ethnicities and backgrounds and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We take these allegations seriously," spokesperson Andrew Christie told AlterNet.
"'Initial indications are that these pass-riders were traveling on non-revenue tickets as part of our employee travel program. All employees and pass-riders are expected to comply with the policies associated with this travel privilege."
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