SAN FRANCISCO – A proposed class-action lawsuit against SkyWest Airlines has been filed in federal court by former employees who allege they were denied lunch breaks and overtime pay.
Plaintiffs Jeremy Barnes and Coryell Ross, who were both employed by defendants SkyWest Airlines Inc. and Skywest Inc., are the main plaintiffs in the case. Their suit was filed July 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
According to the suit, employees known as ramp agents work loading and unloading baggage, sorting freight, servicing the aircraft and other duties for the defendants. Barnes worked for the defendants from 2009 to 2016 and Ross was employed by the defendants from 2014 to 2017 as ramp agents, the suit states.
They allege that SkyWest violated California's Labor Code law by failing to "keep and maintain adequate records of hours worked, engaging in a policy and practice of refusing to provide workers meal and rest breaks, failing to provide a mechanism for workers to receive payments and penalties for missed breaks, and failing to pay all wages, overtime and commissions in compliance with California law," according to the lawsuit.
SkyWest Airlines has been in existence for more than 45 years as a passenger airline. According to the lawsuit, under contract, the company operates an average of 2,300 flights per day, including "966 flights per day as Delta Connection on behalf of Delta Air Lines, 887 flights per day as United Express on behalf of United Airlines, 314 flights per day as American Eagle on behalf of American Airlines, and 131 flights per day as Alaska SkyWest in partnership with Alaska Airlines."
The plaintiffs are represented by Laurence D. King, Matthew B. George and Mario M. Choi from the law firm Kaplan Fox and Kilsheimer in San Francisco and Gennaro Du Terroil of the Law Office of Gennaro Du Terroil in San Antonio, Texas.