Firing Flight Attendants Who Watched iPad Could Cost United $2 Million

[TexasTowelie]

Earlier this year, after a jury awarded $800,000 to veteran United flight attendants Ruben Lee and Jeanne Stroup, fired in 2013 for watching a video on an iPad for approximately fifteen minutes and failing to wear aprons during one flight, attorney David Lane, who represents them, predicted that this dollar amount could eventually double.

Turns out his forecast may have been conservative. This week, U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Daniel upped the damage award by nearly $620,000, taking the total over $1.4 million. And that doesn't include attorneys' fees for Lane's firm, Killmer, Lane & Newman, LLP, which, by Lane's calculation, will likely add at least another $500,000. That would bring the award to around $2 million.

The key to this boost, Lane says, is that Daniel found United's sacking of flight attendants with more than seventy years of combined experience to have been "willful." And that single word could prove plenty expensive.

Speaking to Westword in March about the case, Lane made the same charge. "We're not alleging United has a pattern and practice of age discrimination," he conceded. "But in this particular case, they tried to make an example out of a couple of older flight attendants, and it backfired on them."

Read more: https://www.westword.com/news/firing-flight-attendants-who-watched-ipad-could-cost-united-2-million-10918602

[peacebuzzard]

1. United did not brief the defendant supervisor

Very well. To equate looking up something on an iPad to lighting a fire in the bathroom is ludicrous.
IOW United loses out on all accounts.
The cabin crew has a painful win.
So sad the flight crew lost their best years to this, since more than likely United will appeal rather than settle this case, this company is not known to be supportive of their union flight attendants and has a history of animosity.
Sounds like it will be sometime before the fired crew members will be compensated.

On edit: thanks for posting Tex,

[TexasTowelie]

2. You're welcome.

The case was lost after that supervisor attempted to equate the two events. United might try to appeal, but after that testimony and the fact that they don't have written procedures for employee discipline means that they won't prevail in an appeal.

[peacebuzzard]

3. I hope they will be compensated.

That was a big loss for United. According to the article, they had a wealth of experience and were awesome employees.
United has much to live up to the friendly skies logo.