United Pilots, Attendants Get Class Status in On-Call Wage Suit

A group of pilots and flight attendants based in California may proceed as two certified classes on claims that United Airlines’ on-call pay scheme violates state law, a magistrate judge said in the plaintiffs’ second recent victory in their wage litigation.

Whether the airline’s scheme violates California law is a common question that can be resolved on a class-wide basis, Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler said.

The airlines pays on-call employees either a “line-pay value” based on the time spent on flight-related activities, or a “minimum-pay guarantee,” whichever is higher. The employees allege this scheme illegally borrows from flight time to ...