There is no good intro for me to write, so I'll just jump in.
WestJet had to be very, very careful with this situation. The court of public opinion was going to throw them under the bus no matter what they did.
Had WestJet fired the pilot, as Ms. Lewis suggests they should have, that pilot would have had grounds to sue WestJet for wrongful dismissal with the information we have at hand. A "he said, she said" situation, even under the umbrella of a sexual assault complaint is not grounds for dismissal. WestJet then would look like a hard-handed company, serving justice without evidence. We would then say they must be a horrible company to work for and consumers would want to see protection for the employees.
With WestJet not firing the pilot, they look like a company stuck in the 1950's...The "old boys club," as it were.
This is WestJet's version of the Kobayashi Maru; a no-win scenario.
But here is the thing. We don't know what evidence was presented to WestJet at the time of this complaint. All we know is that Ms. Lewis complained to WestJet and the police. The fact that Hawaii chose to issue an arrest warrant does not imply guilt on the part of the pilot. The fact that WestJet separated the pilot and flight attendant from working with one another could simply be the end result of an investigation which was not able to collect sufficient evidence to dismiss the pilot, so they elected the "safe" option of distancing their two employees - that's all they could do. Their hands may have been tied. The fact they refused to send the pilot to Hawaii - seriously? No company is going to do that and no employee would accept such a flight. Oh gee, I'm scheduled to Honolulu today...I've got hemorrhoids, sorry can't go. Be realistic.
The fact that Ms. Lewis was fired may have no bearing on this. It may. But maybe, just maybe WestJet had cause to fire her. Just because she made a sexual assault complaint does not give her a shield of protection from future wrong doing. We just don't know as we only have her word.
Now, more women are coming forward with complaints of sexual harassment and assault. If indeed it happens to be about the same pilot, then there are serious questions that need to be answered - and it should go all the way to the top. Even if its not the same pilot, there are questions to be answered.
Sexual Assault and Harassment is a horrible thing. But the accused is still innocent until proven guilty and deserves their day in court.
My post may come off as we being on the side of WestJet. I'm not. If they hid something under the carpet to protect a pilot then there are people inside the Campus who should go to jail. But at the same time I do not take a sexual assault complaint to be gospel. As hard as it is to relieve the pain, that is what our justice system requires. It's by no means fair to the victim, but it does protect the accused from false allegations.