Nearly 3,500 female flight attendants who are in the midst of a lawsuit against WestJet for alleged mishandling of harassment complaints will experience a delay in reaching a settlement. This delay comes after a judge in British Columbia identified issues within the proposed settlement agreement.
The lawsuit accuses WestJet of violating employment contracts with female flight attendants by not establishing and maintaining an effective anti-harassment program, including proper reporting, investigating, and responding mechanisms for workplace harassment between April 4, 2016, and Feb. 28, 2021. The proposed agreement involved a payment of $4.5 million to class members, with no admission of liability by the company.
During the proceedings, concerns were raised by B.C. Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline Hughes regarding the limited three-day timeframe given to class members to review and accept the settlement terms, which she deemed unusually short. Typically, a 30-day review period is standard practice, according to Hughes. The agreement was mediated in December and an initial version was shared with current and former flight attendants via email on Jan. 16.
However, the early version lacked a crucial clause releasing WestJet from liability, a point of contention for some objectors. This updated version was circulated to class members on Feb. 6, giving them until Feb. 9 to voice any objections, resulting in eight objections being raised.
One of the objectors, April Harkness, a former WestJet flight attendant, expressed concerns about the limited decision-making time, the adequacy of compensation offered, and the absence of specifics regarding independent review of WestJet’s harassment policies moving forward.
Justice Hughes probed WestJet’s legal team on the oversight of third-party involvement in the company’s anti-harassment policies to ensure accountability and effective behavior modification. The original lawsuit, initiated in 2016 by Mandalena Lewis, a former flight attendant alleging sexual assault by a pilot in 2010, was certified as a class action in 2022 following additional complaints.
The judge also highlighted the need for clarity on whether WestJet employees, including pilots, could still be subject to lawsuits for sexual harassment under the terms of the agreement. Class members now have until March 23 to evaluate and submit objections to the settlement agreement, with a scheduled court review on May 7 to assess the progress.
