Las Vegas Sands Pilots Face Dubious Judges in Overtime Appeal

Private jet pilots who say Las Vegas Sand Corp. and an aviation subsidiary owe them overtime pay faced a skeptical Ninth Circuit panel Wednesday as they sought to overturn a lower court’s exemption ruling.

Air traffic control supervises the pilots’ route choices and reactions to weather, so they don’t actually fall under a Fair Labor Standards Act exemption that involves exercising discretion and independent judgment with respect to matters of significance, Andre Lagomarsino, an attorney who argued the case on their behalf, told the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel.

Judge Milan D. Smith Jr. asked Lagomarsino ...