Southwest Airlines is facing a $100-million lawsuit (all figures U.S.) that claims it violated wage and hour laws by refusing to pay baggage and cargo handlers weekly under a New York statute. Attorneys at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight filed the class action on behalf of two named plaintiffs, Richard Strain and David Garner, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
According to the complaint, Strain and Garner have worked as ramp agents for Southwest at airports in Islip and Buffalo since 2008 and 2009, respectively. The lawsuit alleges the pair and other New York-based employees who handle luggage, cargo, and other physical tasks are manual workers, which requires weekly pay under state law. Instead, the complaint states, Southwest pays them on a bimonthly schedule.
“Southwest’s refusal to pay its manual workers every week is inconsistent with the state law’s purpose of protecting individuals who depend upon their regular wages for sustenance,” said Michael Palmer, Co-Managing Partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight’s New York office. He added, “No worker living paycheque to paycheque should have to wait to receive their earned wages.”
In addition to the New York statute, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act also requires prompt payment, the lawsuit says. “It is egregious that Southwest continues to ignore these state and federal statutes to the detriment of its manual workers statewide,” said Palmer.
The case seeks certification for a proposed class of more than 100 ramp and cargo agents who have worked for Southwest in New York since 2018. The complaint asserts Southwest benefited from delaying employee wages, using the funds for its own expenses or investment. “This illegal practice allows the airline to utilize those funds for its expenses or accrue interest in its business accounts,” said Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight partner Andrew Melzer, who is also Co-Chair of the Wage and Hour Practice Group. “This is exactly what the statute is designed to prevent,” he added.
The class action requests a declaratory judgment that Southwest’s practices are unlawful, along with an injunction to stop them. It also seeks more than $100 million in liquidated damages, plus legal fees, costs, and interest. A jury trial is requested, and the plaintiffs have asked the court to name Strain and Garner as representatives of the New York class and Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight as class counsel.
