In line with other district court rulings, a federal judge in Massachusetts has rejected a Florida man’s series of mask mandate challenges against American and Southwest airlines, finding that the federal funding provided during the pandemic did not fall within the meaning of the Rehabilitation Act.
The plaintiff, Michael Seklecki, filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and his son against the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, as well as the airlines, in the District Court of Massachusetts in January. Seklecki and his son live in Florida, but since June 2021, they frequently flew to Massachusetts so his son could receive critical medical care at Boston Children’s Hospital, according to the judge’s opinion filed Wednesday.
