SACRAMENTO — Delta Air Lines Inc. received preliminary approval of its $1.4 million settlement with its cargo employees in California federal court recently. Along with granting preliminary approval, the California federal judge conditionally certified a class of approximately 1,140 “Ready Reserve” customer cargo employees working for Delta from March 2009 to March 2014 in California. The cargo employees claimed the airline failed to provide proper meal breaks and denied overtime pay in violation of California labor laws.
The Ready Reserve Claim
Andrew Bell, a former Ready Reserve cargo customer agent in San Francisco, filed the class action in March 2013. Bell’s lawsuit claimed employees working less than 6 hours were denied meal breaks, which may not be a violation of California law, depending on the specifics. However, the lawsuit also alleges denied rest breaks, required “off-the-clock” work, and inaccurate wage statements, which are violations of state law. Bell also claims Delta denied overtime pay when employees worked more than 8 hours in a shift. The claim notes that this happened often because employees were allowed to swap shifts to cover for other employees.
Delta has agreed to create a fund for current and former class members to receive the value of overtime earned from shift swaps. According to the settlement, the former Delta employees in the certified class will receive an additional award amount in waiting time penalties for failure to pay in a timely manner after termination. Bell will also receive $7,500 as lead plaintiff.
Shift Swapping
Shift swapping is one form of flexible scheduling where one employee agrees to either switch shifts with another employee or to simply cover a shift of another employee. Employers are not required to allow employees to shift swap. For this reason, some employers allow shift swapping, so long as a shift is covered, while others strictly prohibit the practice. Employers in states like California, where wage laws can make shift swapping a costly practice, will typically either prohibit shift swapping or require advanced approval so the employer can avoid scheduling an employee for overtime.
California wage and hour laws require employers to pay overtime wages, or time and a half, to employees who not only work more than 40 hours a week, but who work more than 8 hours a shift. And, if an employee works more than 12 hours in a shift, the employer must pay at least double time for any time worked after 12 hours. Depending on how Delta scheduled its cargo employees and its shift swapping policies, cargo employees could have easily earned a significant amount of overtime pay.
If your employer allows shift swapping and is denying overtime pay, call our top-rated team of overtime pay lawyers today at (855) 754-2795 to discuss your rights. Or complete the Free Unpaid Overtime Case Review form and our knowledgeable legal team will evaluate your case. If we accept your case, we will represent you under our No Fee Promise. This means there are no legal fees or costs unless you receive a settlement. However, there are strict time deadlines for filing or joining lawsuits so it is important to contact an attorney immediately.