Southwest Flight Attendants Nab Class Status in Leave Policy Row

Southwest Airlines Co. flight attendants got a federal judge’s approval Thursday to proceed in a class action on their claims that an attendance policy change punishes workers who take protected medical and family leave.

The workers sought to move forward as two nationwide classes—one for injunctive relief, and the other for damages—and corresponding California subclasses for each, all made up of flight attendants who took protected leave since March 1, 2019, and suffered disciplinary consequences. The US District Court for the Northern District of California certified both classes and one subclass.

The workers met the requirements to pursue their leave ...