A B.C. court is expected to rule in the coming days on whether to approve a proposed $4.5‑million settlement between WestJet and thousands of current and former female flight attendants who say the airline failed to properly protect them from workplace harassment.
The B.C. court must now assess whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the class as a whole before deciding whether to grant approval, as outlined in a CBC report.
The agreement in principle — reached during mediation in December — would resolve a class‑action lawsuit alleging that WestJet did not have adequate systems in place to prevent, report and respond to harassment affecting female cabin crew, CBC reported.
None of the allegations in the case have been proven in court.
The litigation traces back nearly a decade to a claim filed by former WestJet flight attendant Mandalena Lewis. She alleges the company failed to support her after she says she was sexually assaulted by a pilot during a layover in Hawaii in 2010.
As more women came forward, the B.C. Court of Appeal certified the matter as a class action in 2022. The certified class covers female flight attendants employed between 4 April 2016 and 28 February 2021.
The lawsuit alleges WestJet breached employment contracts by failing to implement and maintain what it calls an adequate anti‑harassment programme for female flight attendants during that period, according to the CBC report. It points to...
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