United's failur to adduce sufficient evidence
Documented procedural concerns
United's failure to adduce sufficient evidence to substantiate why they terminated FA Blockhus
with cause and has not substantiated that he was in fact, in violation of United’s Working Together Guidelines and Harassment policy. If FA Blockhus's termination cannot be justified by legitimate reasons supported by evidence, then it give rise to suspicion of discriminatory motives.
United produced no evidence substantiating that a "Corrective Investigation Committee" reviewed the Lense case, however if this were true this committee would have rejected FA Blockhus's termination base of the following fact;
FA Blockhus was medically unavailable to participate in any investigation until April 5, 2021, due to approved medical treatment.
- FA Blockhus was granted and approved for FMLA leave, which provided protected status during his absence from work.
- It was documented that Base Manager Monique Williams agreed to postpone or “recalculate” the handling of the Lense matter until Mr. Blockhus returned from FMLA leave.
- FA Blockhus was never interviewed during the investigation, despite interviews being routinely afforded to other employees facing allegations.
- Not all relevant facts could have been collected or fairly evaluated without FA Blockhus’s participation in the investigative process.
- There is no documentation demonstrating that a complete or independent investigation was ever conducted.
- Documents and screenshots produced by Ms. Lense were accepted by United without meaningful challenge, verification, or authentication.
- The origin of FA Lense’s text message evidence was never identified or connected to FA Blockhus.
- FA Blockhus’s phone records and activity logs were produced and forensically examined yet there
is no evidence establishing a connection between his device and the alleged text messages. - Phone records demonstrated repeated contact initiated by FA Lense following the period in which she claimed harassment occurred.
- More than 500 calls or contact attempts from FA Lense to FA Blockhus were documented during the relevant period, undermining claims of avoidance or fear.
- A key witness provided sworn testimony and written statements relevant to the allegations, yet that testimony was not meaningfully incorporated into the investigation.
- Complaints filed by FA Blockhus and a co-worker regarding FA Lense’s alleged harassment were not investigated.
- United’s Ethics Department reportedly closed complaints regarding FA Lense within one day, raising concerns regarding unequal treatment and investigative inconsistency.
- The investigation proceeded despite documented acknowledgment that FA Blockhus was “unavailable” and that the matter was to be postponed.
- United relied upon allegations of contact with FA Lense before issuing any formal directive prohibiting such contact.
- No evidence has been produced showing that United reconciled contradictory statements.
- FA Lense acknowledged in her own statements that her primary concern was protecting her job, sexual harassment.
- FA Lense admitted that she did not feel physically threatened, which is inconsistent with the severity of allegations later relied upon for termination.
- Recorded communications and documented interactions indicate that contact between the parties continued voluntarily during the timeframe in question.
- Evidence reflecting an ongoing personal relationship into late 2020 was not fully reconciled with the allegations later advanced.
- United proceeded with termination while FA Blockhus remained on approved FMLA leave and medically unable to attend the scheduled investigatory meeting.
- No completed mediation, arbitration conclusion, or final dispute-resolution process was reached.
- United’s justification relied in part on an “honest belief” defense, despite unresolved factual disputes and an incomplete investigation.
- The Company relied on allegations that were never independently corroborated through objective evidence.
- Exculpatory evidence—including phone records, witness testimony, and timeline inconsistencies—was not meaningfully addressed in the final decision-making process.
- The investigation did not provide equal consideration to allegations made against FA Lense, despite multiple reports and supporting evidence.
- These facts collectively reveal significant gaps, inconsistencies, and procedural deficiencies in United’s handling of the investigation and termination process, raising serious questions regarding fairness, contractual compliance, and due process.
Without evidence substantiating the involvement of a Corrective Investigation Committee and
adherence to proper procedures, United's termination decision appears arbitrary and unsupported. The failure to interview FA Blockhus, verify documents, and establish the origin of key evidence raises serious questions about the validity of the termination. These discrepancies highlight the need for a comprehensive review of United's actions and decisions in this case and FA Blockhus should be allowed to return back to his twenty-four year career.
If United claims that FA Blockhus was not meeting their expectations at the time of his termination, it is their burden to provide evidence supporting this assertion. Simply making the claim without substantiating evidence does not meet the standard required in legal proceedings.
United Airlines, as a large conglomerate, wields significant power and influence, which may
lead them to believe they can make decisions with impunity, confident that individual employees lack the means to challenge them.
FA Lense Threating Text & Email to FA Blockhus
What United seem to not wants to address are the harassment by FA Lense and her threating and disgusting text messages she sent to FA Blockhus while he was still an active employee at United. These were place into docket but ignored. FA Lense admitted these came from her phone and email. It's concerning that United has addressed the threatening and inappropriate text messages sent by FA Lense to FA Blockhus during his tenure at United. The fact that these messages were submitted as evidence but seemingly ignored raises questions about the fairness and impartiality of the proceedings. Ignoring relevant evidence undermines the integrity of the legal process and may suggest bias against
FA Blockhus. FA Blockhus was terminated based solely on a false accusation. This should raise several important issues regarding fairness, due process, and workplace policies. This discrepancy in how he was treated by United, seems unfair. This, in addition to FA Lense's being reported for
- Retaliation
- Harassment
- Vandalism
- Posting disparaging statements about United on her Face Book
- Threating another employee on a Twitter post
- Receiving a two year protection order against her
- Violating her two year protection order.
Moreover United's claim that FA Blockhus has failed to introduce any admissible evidence that Lense engaged in similar conduct is puzzling. United claims to simply accept that FA Lense said she "didn't sent them" United's assertion that FA Blockhus did not turn over these text messages before his termination in absentia fails to address the fundamental issue at hand. FA Blockhus was not afforded due process or the opportunity to present evidence in his defense prior to his termination. Moreover, the burden of proof rests with United to substantiate their claims, yet they have provided no compelling evidence to support their decision.
Therefore, any failure on FA Blockhus's part to produce the text messages from FA Lense prior to his termination is irrelevant in the absence of a fair and impartial review of the evidence. This further underscores the need for a thorough reevaluation of the circumstances surrounding FA Blockhus's wrongful termination. Moreover, FA Blockhus has cooperated fully by surrendering his phone history, which revealed no connection to the text messages attributed to him by FA Lense, who herself admitted to having no recollection of why she received them. Furthermore, when United received the text messages that FA Lense sent to FA Blockhus, they did nothing. It is unclear what United's counsel hoped to gain with this comment other than proving once again that United has treated FA Blockhus differently than FA Lense. Consequently, FA Blockhus should be allowed to return to his employment were he has worked for over twenty-four years.
United cannot justify their bias and discrimination against FA Blockhus while failing to address FA Lense's admitted ownership of the phone number associated with the threating text messages FA Blockhus received. United has inexplicably refrained from taking any action against her. This glaring disparity in treatment only serves to further underscore the discriminatory nature of United's actions against FA Blockhus.
Junior Acting Supervisor Frank Hester's Termination Letter
In response to Frank Hester’s assertion in his erroneous and purposely deceptive termination letter,
that FA Blockhus sent text messages to flight attendant Katherine Lense, it is important to note
that no substantial proof has been offered to support this claim.
1. Without concrete evidence verifying their origin and authenticity, it is unjust and unfounded to
attribute text messages to FA Blockhus. In addition to the circumstantial evidence, FA Blockhus also submitted his phone history to United counsel. Between Oct 2020-Feb 2021 FA Lense contacted FA Blockhus over 500 times.
2. Franks Hester's insistence on portraying FA Blockhus’s voice message to FA Lense requesting her to
stop harassing him and a fellow co-worker or they will report her to the company as inappropriate
appears to be driven by ulterior motives rather than genuine concerns about its content. The
company's efforts to depict the message as such seem to stem from a desire to bolster their unfounded case against FA Blockhus by any means necessary. It is evident that United is attempting to use any available means to discredit FA Blockhus and portray him in a negative light, even if it means misrepresenting the nature of the voice message.
3. Hester's failure to conduct a thorough investigation, admitting to reviewing only the evidence
pertaining to the complaint made by flight attendant Katherine Lense, raises serious concerns
about the fairness and impartiality of the investigation process. This narrow focus suggests a lack of diligence in exploring all relevant factors and evidence that could impact their findings. Hester admittedly never even spoke to Ms. Lense.
4. There was no visible phone number on Ms. Lense's text messages and United made no effort to identify it before wrongfully terminating him. This raises significant questions about the thoroughness and fairness and lack of diligence of the investigation conducted by the company suggest potentially a rush to judgment by United Airlines.
5. The voicemail left on Ms. Lense's phone was primarily intended to address a potential conflict and
suggest resolving the matter through communication rather than involving HR. The statement,
"Just call me, let's get this over with because it's going to get ugly," was nothing more than to be
intended as a plea to address the issue directly to avoid escalation to involve the company. United
selectively chose this statement and gave it their own interpretation to purposely incriminate Mr.
Blockhus. Manipulating evidence or selectively presenting information to paint an employee in a
negative light undermines the integrity of the investigation process raises serious concerns about
the company's commitment to fairness and transparency.
6. There was no evidence FA Blockhus was responsible for sending those text or harasing FA Lense, in fact there was not a single witness to support her claims and United made no challenge to FA Lense to verify the accuracy of her claims made against him.
7. FA Blockhus attempted to provided a written statement before the Feb 8th Lol meeting that was
wrongly advised by his supervisor, Ms. Howell to Corporate. FA. Blockhus, still shocked and confused in the matter attempted acknowledging that there might have been an argument between him and FA Lense, due to the amount of harasin text messages she sent him previously but he denies engaging in any harassing behavior or texting.
Under FA Blockhus's condition he would have said anything to make this absolutely absurd situation that he was unfortunate enough to find himself in to just go away. It should be understandable that he might feel pressured to take responsibility, especially if his job is on the line. Anxiety can cloud judgment and make it difficult to think clearly.
8. FA Blockhus was well aware as to why FA Lense was creating her false allegations against him and was adamant that she did not need to take such an extreme measure against him as he knows that her false accusations are very serious and were a direct result of his voice message to her indicating he and fellow fight attendant would report her to the company if she did not stop harassing them.
9. FA Blockhus adamantly denies sending any text messages, and there is no evidence linking him to such communication. The claim that Mr. Blockhus admitted to threatening FA Lense in a voicemail to Supervisor Howell is fabricated and misleading. Those who are making this assertion should be thoroughly scrutinized.
10. In light of these discrepancies and the lack of substantial evidence supporting the Company's claims,
it is clear that the investigation conducted was flawed and biased. The Company's attempt to incriminate Mr. Blockhus based on unsubstantiated allegations, coupled with Ms. Howell’s misrepresentation of statements, undermines the fairness and integrity of the investigation process.
United was required to adhere to FMLA regulations, which protect Mr. Blockhus's rights to take medical leave without fear of termination. Hester testified he based his decision solely on information provided by Ms. Lense without considering other evidence or conducting an impartial investigation, this suggests bias and unfair treatment in the termination process. Mr. Blockhus's termination was based on incomplete or biased information. Hester represented United Airlines when he knowingly participated in violating Mr. Blockhus's FMLA rights by contacting him several times requiring him to attend his meeting and ultimately terminating him while he was on medical leave despite the directive to pause until Mr. Blockhus returned from FMLA. This raises serious concerns about United Airlines' adherence to employment laws and its commitment to employee rights and protections.
Protected Activity – Reporting Harassment
On January 24, 2021, and again on January 25, 2021, at 10:58 a.m., Blockhus left a voicemail for a fellow employee and former girlfriend, Ms. Lense. In that message, he informed her that if she did not cease her harassment of him and another co-worker, Mindy Richard, they would report her behavior to the company. The purpose of these communications was protective and corrective, not punitive. Mr. Blockhus did not threaten Ms. Lense, her safety, or her employment; rather, he advised her of a lawful and policy-compliant course of action—reporting workplace harassment—if the conduct continued. United later acknowledged that this communication did not violate company policy and that an employee may inform another employee of an intent to report misconduct to Human Resources.