JetBlue Airways aircrafts are pictured at departure gates at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York June 15, 2013. REUTERS/Fred Prouser/File Photo
(Reuters) - JetBlue Airways Corp will pay $3.6 million to more than 500 flight attendants to settle a longrunning lawsuit accusing the airline of violating California law by failing to pay the workers when they were forced to skip breaks.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs in the 2015 proposed class action filed a proposed settlement in San Francisco federal court on Friday. JetBlue has denied wrongdoing.
The settlement includes up to $900,000 in attorneys' fees.
The airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did lawyers from the firm Nichols Kaster who represent the named plaintiffs.
The lawsuit was part of a flurry of litigation over whether California's strict and detailed wage laws apply to flight attendants who are based in the state but spend the vast majority of their time in the air.
Airlines and trade groups argued that a federal law regulating airlines and railroads preempted state requirements, and that a ruling to the contrary would result in a costly regulatory patchwork that would spur airlines to cut services and raise prices.
The California Supreme Court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers the state, have ruled in recent years that because state employment laws apply generally and do not single out airlines, the industry must comply with them.
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