AIRLINES FOR AMERICA CASE AGAINST STATE OF MASSACHUSETTS WILL GO TO TRIAL
July 26, 2021
On June 3, 2021, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a decision denying cross summary judgement motions in a case filed by Airlines for America (A4A) against the Attorney General of Massachusetts. A4A is challenging the Massachusetts Earned Sick Time Law (the “MESTL”), which guarantees earned sick leave, and provides other sick leave-related protections, to Massachusetts based employees. A4A asserted that the law is unconstitutional as applied to airline flight and ground crewmembers and that the MESTL: (1) violates the dormant Commerce Clause by placing an undue burden on interstate commerce; and (2) is preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act (the “ADA”) because it substantially impacts airline prices, routes, and/or services. After each party filed motions for summary judgement, the court held a hearing to determine if summary judgement was warranted for either side. The court found that there are still numerous factual issues to be resolved, such as whether MESTL will have any impact, let alone a significant impact, on flight delays, cancelations, and other airline services, and for that reason denied both parties’ motions.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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