9TH CIRCUIT REVERSES FAVORABLE COURT DECISIONS FOR UNITED AND DELTA
March 8, 2021
On February 2, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued an opinion reversing a district court’s summary judgment in favor of United Airlines, Inc. in two consolidated class action cases brought by United pilots and flight attendants alleging that United failed to comply with California labor law, and remanding the cases for a full hearing on the merits. Additionally, the 9th Circuit also issued an order remanding a similar summary judgment decision in favor of Delta Airlines in a case brought by Delta flight attendants. While the 9th Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision on the plaintiffs’ minimum wage claims, the district court must now hear the merits of the plaintiffs’ timing-of-pay and wage-statement claims. In both cases, the 9th Circuit’s decisions were partially based on a California Supreme Court decision from June 2020 that found that pilots and flight attendants are entitled to the protections of California’s wage laws if California serves as their “base of work operations”, even if most of their work is performed outside of California. At this point, it is unclear how the cases will be resolved after a full hearing at the district court level, and what affect, if it any, it will have on other carriers who have employees primarily based in California.
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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