Virgin, Alaska Flight Attendants Win $77M in Wage Class Suit

Virgin America Inc. and Alaska Airlines Inc. must pay $77 million to a class of flight attendants who alleged a number of California wage violations including that they didn’t receive pay for all of their hours or breaks required by state law, a federal judge ordered Jan. 16.

The class of 1,400 flight attendants won summary judgment on liability in January 2017. Determination of the amount they were owed wasn’t part of that ruling. The flight attendants also alleged they weren’t paid all overtime and didn’t receive accurate wage statements.

The airlines tried unsuccessfully to argue that federal deregulation preempted ...