Patrick Miller-Bartley
Tue, 02/28/2023
On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, a class of more than 1,900 United Airlines pilots asked a federal district court to approve a $7.5 million settlement to resolve a dispute over what the pilots allege was United Airlines’ failure to comply with California law dictating what kind of information must be included on a paystub.
In their lawsuit, the pilots alleged that United failed to comply with California Labor Code 226, which requires, among other things, that all paystubs include an itemized breakdown of workers’ hourly wages and the number of hours worked in a pay period. In response, United argued that because the pilots were not paid hourly, but rather as the result of various interrelated formulas, it would be nonsensical to identify an hourly rate on the pilots’ paystubs. Nevertheless, in August of 2022 a court held in the pilots’ favor, finding that United had failed to provide them with California-compliant wage statements, and, prior to that decision, courts at both the state and federal level endorsed the idea that United needed to follow California’s wage and hour laws.
The settlement is valued at roughly $2,445 per pilot, and is non-reversionary, meaning that if all of the money in the settlement fund is not initially distributed, it does not go back to United but rather gets distributed amongst the plaintiffs. It comes on the heels of a similar lawsuit brought by United flight attendants. Earlier this month, a California federal judge granted preliminary approval to a $53.5 million settlement on behalf of flight attendants who alleged they also received insufficient pay stubs under California law.
MSE has a long history of representing employees with pay issues, whether they have been misclassified, paid late, receive the wrong OT rate, or have otherwise had their pay miscalculated. If something does not look right with your check, contact us at info@mselaborlaw.com.
