Virgin America Inc. and Alaska Airlines Inc. flight attendants will receive almost $31 million after a federal district judge reevaluated the proper penalties in their wage-and-hour case following a trip to the Ninth Circuit.
Virgin and Alaska, both part of Alaska Air Group Inc., are on the hook for nearly $12.3 million in penalties under a California law that deputizes workers to recover for employment violations, the US District Court for the Northern District of California said Tuesday. That figure represents a significant 25% reduction from the pre-appeal award, but still less than the 75% reduction the airlines sought on remand.
Workers filed a class action approximately a decade ago accusing Virgin and Alaska of numerous employment law violations, including failing to pay them for all hours worked, ensure they made minimum wage, pay overtime premiums, and provide proper wage statements.
The flight attendants originally won approximately $77 million in damages and penalties. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the bulk of Judge Jon S. Tigar’s 2019 order, but overturned other portions, necessitating a new calculation of how much the airlines owed. The US Supreme Court in 2022 rejected Virgin and Alaska’s bid to further reduce the award.
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