Discrimination lawsuit filed against UsAir

[FWAAA]

Wonder what will happen to the lawyer. He filed a court document which intentially omitted a critical fact and misrepresented the passes as tickets. The more I think about this though I want the company to settle it. If this goes to court and the company loses the court may impose changes to policy so onerous that the company just decideds to elimiate the affected benefits.

The complaint didn't mention that they were Buddy Pass passengers, but it did say that the other two passengers who were dressed inappropriately "had the same tickets" as the plaintiffs. Hmmm.

Is it possible that the other two (one white, one Filipino) were ALSO Buddy Pass passengers and not paid first class or paid upgrades as well?

If so, then the discrimination suit might have some merit. Their claim might end up being that the black Buddy Pass passengers were treated differently than white or Filipino Buddy Pass passengers. The US employee who gave them the Buddy Passes might still be fired, but US might find that it is liable to the black passengers for the "humiliation" of singling them out for different treatment.

On the other hand, if the white and Filipino passengers were revenue passengers and not NR Buddy Pass passengers, then I wouldn't want to be the lawyers who signed the complaint.

Rule 11 sanctions might be appropriate in this situation. I wouldn't want to be the two dimwitted attorneys who filed this complaint in federal court without verifying, and clearly stating the facts in the complaint.

 

[UPNAWAY]

"I do have a little bit of a feeling of Schadenfreude against US Airways, as there IS actually rampant discrimination at this company - not necessarily racial discrimination, but other types of discrimination as well as retaliation and corruption."

Lighten up Francies!
Half the employees here are gay (I am sure that is what you were insinuating). And US has recieved praise and awards form gay grousp, women groups and other rminority groups for their hiring pracitces.

You have a very unhealthy beef with US Airways, you probabaly should look in the mirror.

 

[LD3]

This is what's known as a frivolous lawsuit , when you settle out of court you only invite more .

Then it's about time that the judicial system should start penalizing lawyers and the plaintiff's who bring about frivolius lawsuits...

 

[Hope777]

Again, Stupid Lawsuit. But I just had a very hard time leaving MYR in jeans, they told me I could not upgrade. It's Time ALL employees learn what the dress code is. Even the CSS said no to jeans in F/C.... Its Your Job to know the all the rules

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

The CSS couldn't be bothered to look it up in DRS?

Hey, I score F/C so rarely that it would be worth wearing my tux!

 

[freedom]

This lawsuit will be thrown out. They were Buddy Pass riders. The lowest on the food chain. It doesn't matter if the were seated in First Class. They weren't full fare customers, so they can't dress the way they wanted, like the other people in the photos. As long as you pay the First Class fare in full, you can dress any way you pretty much want within reason. I've seen people look like bums going into First Class, and women that look nearly like strippers board. But you as a pass rider can't. Cause they didn't pay the full fare. This reminds me of that woman a couple of years ago who wore some "Daisy Duke" shorts and one of the FA's (I think it was WN) told her to cover herself up. She then took it to the media. IIRC, I think the case was thrown out. (sidebar: she was a very attractive young lady though, and wore them well!) Most airlines recently relaxed the dress code for us employees, instead of wearing a suit or a tie. Everybody knew we were employees, because we dressed so sharp. So now we can dress "business casual". But in first class, we would still have to dress business like.

I know one thing, the employee that gave them the passes will be fired. You can bet on that.

The question your REALLY asking is if the gate agent ect , was racist ... all things considered we have a VERY limited pool of new hires at this company ... Those people who've been here for some time ( which constitute the majority of the work force ) , i'd wager any day are not racist ...

P.s ... I pray for the affected employee if they didn't SELL their passes ... if they sold their passes , then they should lose their job ... if they didn't ... this is like the worst horror story of all time for them , and if the media needs to feel sympathy for someone , let it be the poor employee who unwittingly gave two buddie passes to such awful people ...Truly if this is a mix up , I hope and pray that company takes mercy on the employee , poor soul that they are .

 

[FWAAA]

Does anyone know whether Michael Heffernan (white guy) and Edward DeLeon (Filipino) were nonrevs or whether the were revenue passengers? The lawsuit claims that both of those guys (whose clothing did not meet the F dress code) "were on the same tickets" as the plaintiffs - which might be a very imprecise way of saying they were nonrevs as well.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

Does anyone know whether Michael Heffernan (white guy) and Edward DeLeon (Filipino) were nonrevs or whether the were revenue passengers? The lawsuit claims that both of those guys (whose clothing did not meet the F dress code) "were on the same tickets" as the plaintiffs - which might be a very imprecise way of saying they were nonrevs as well.

I rather expect that they were revenue; for the sake of US Airways (and the G/A) I hope they were.

 

[ContUNITEus]

I rather expect that they were revenue; for the sake of US Airways (and the G/A) I hope they were.

And that's where I believe the problem may lie with US Airways. That explains the hesitation from US Airways about a pragmatic approach to this matter, when making their public statement. US Airways statement to the media reeks guilt to me. Still, I am baffled by how poorly the complaint was written by the attorney.

Regardless, I'm still glad that it happened at US Airways so that it gives their attorneys some more crazy running around, trying to dig the company out of yet some more sh!t. I know you don't wanna hear that Shirley and 700, but they deserve it.

Also, to give a blanket statement that you hope the employee gets fired is in my opinion worse than having the company's legal department try to REALLY figure something out for a change. I hope that the employee is fine. Stuff sometimes happens, and depending on WHAT REALLY HAPPENED here, I hope they treat the employee good, instead of in a retaliatory fashion akin to US Airways(xcuse me America West).

 

[ContUNITEus]

Surely you jest! At AA no one dressed as you describe would even get on the airplane, much less into F/C. And, arguing with the agent about ANYTHING, including the weather, can cause the employee to lose their own travel privileges.

You know.... sometimes it happens that certain gate agents or even gate supervisors (those overseeing handling agent staff in Europe) may have forgotten their medications on that day. Or even better, those in Europe mostly don't take psych medications and perhaps should, as I have seen some absolutely crazy, irrational and confrontational staff.

In fact, sometimes it is safe to have a silent witness go with you to the agent just to observe how everything goes down or even a recording device, because you wouldn't guess what some of the stuff is that they suddenly can come up with, when they have their moments.

So, it's not always the customer or non-rev that is automatically wrong, but they may accidentally be the target of some misplaced anger or frustration by the gate employee.

 

[ContUNITEus]

Lighten up Francies!
Half the employees here are gay (I am sure that is what you were insinuating). And US has recieved praise and awards form gay grousp, women groups and other rminority groups for their hiring pracitces.

You have a very unhealthy beef with US Airways, you probabaly should look in the mirror.

Yes, for all the gay, Jewish, Muslim, Women, black and you-name-it groups that they have, please know that it is all just for show, and to fulfill some phantom criteria of the government. It's all a facade, just like US Airways publishing a Code of Conduct guide to which only selective people are ultimately held up to, at the whim of the same management team that is allowed to blatantly break the same rules. Never, ever mention the word 'corruption' and 'double-standard' that comes with everything that the current US management does.

To be specific, you should just speak to a few Union reps regarding US Airways systematic targeting of HIV positive people or people with other afflictions that may happen from time to time. US Airways (America West) actively pursues getting rid of anyone that costs them money. HIV positive people (considering your own statistic that half the workforce is gay) cost the company a lot of money.

I remember my dear friend Nick Aaronson, when he got stuck once in LAS because of a serious sinus infection where he was just grounded by a doctor and not allowed to fly a plane for approximately 20 days. He cost the company 20 days of hotel overnights in LAS. I advised him shortly after that "up until now you were a stellar employee, but you have now cost the company money, watch your back." Surely enough, a couple of months later the harassment started and he was placed on the first couple of levels.

Shortly after that he was laid off due to the furloughs that were needed at the time and he went then to Qatar. He returned to US a few years later, but he hated US just like most of us.

It was truly ironic to see US Airways management go on the public spectacle of support and sympathy, when they were the first ones trying to make his life miserable. I'm not making this up, I lived with Nick at one point, and knew him very well.

There were many friends that I know that were HIV positive and had (perhaps if you will) complications and had no choice but to make use of intermittent FMLA. If you had a disability and did go on Intermittent, you were definitely a target for discrimination.

I can support my statement by the mere additional fact that America West allowed the back and forth transfer, several times of inflight supervisors, between the (OHHH SO PRIVATE) FMLA processing department and Inflight department which to me is completely corrupt - this activity.

You had specific management staff (example: Nola Nikolaus), that went from inflight supervisor to the FMLA department, back to inflight and then back to FMLA. The same people that knew you in inflight, that worked so hard on getting you on a disciplinary level, also worked with your supposed private medical condition. If you don't seriously think that something is wrong with that, then what is?

 

[jimntx]

If you can prove that information gained working in the FMLA department was used in Flight Service to harass, punish, etc, then a suit should be filed under HIPPA. Truth is that some people with chronic conditions--such as HIV--have decided/or have been led to believe that they can take off any time they want, for as long as they want for any alleged health reason and still keep their jobs. Under the law...tain't so.

Federal law provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in one calendar year before an employee can be terminated for absenteeism due to personal/family illness. But, it is important to remember that once the 12 weeks have been used, the company can do whatever it wants with that employee.

 

[ContUNITEus]

Which by that time, you're already an elevated target.

I don't see where you don't see it, when the same person who handles your private data, handles your employee file, then goes back to the other department and scratches the back of inflight. You know, it is one company that we are speaking of. If the department that handles FMLA would be a separate company, I could definitely say for sure that this is not the case. But in the case of US Airways, its everybody that was in inflight that works in some sort of capacity at that department, and as mentioned in the case of Nola, she went back and forth several times. Gerri Mirl is another example of a supervisor, that up until her retirement, switched over to that department. Best friends with Barb Trella huh? I am absolutely sure that there is no way that there could ever be a conflict of interest as described in the Code of Conduct.

In the end, however, the company does not have too hard of a time, pulling up any random file to argue the contrary. After all, many people get fired, so it is easy for them to just say: "That this is just the way we operate."

I also know of at least one person who was up for elimination, but that mysteriously, that persons' case came to a halt as a result of certain attorneys asking for documents to build a case against US. Ironically the same attorney who also represented the group that did get together to fight back. US in about 2010 abruptly halted that practice of targeting HIV people for a time, just so that it could hold face in case there was an escalation of the matter. For those that were adversely affected, it came down to money, and whether they could afford to continue with a court case - which with an America West salary obviously was not possible - unless you already had money prior to joining that company. Please also know that the EEOC is an extremely slow and ineffective body, and with all the false positives, time and effort it takes for them to pursue something, it is easier for them to just issue a - "Right to Sue" letter than to actually pursue it themselves - which in some cases is preferred by the attorneys as it speeds up the process.

As you said, this can be proven, but ultimately it comes down to whether you really want a minimum wage job like that back and whether it is worth the price. I can tell you that it is not. But it is certainly worth it to give the company bad publicity and continue to expose the unethical practices. Every time someone comes forward with a claim of discrimination, as absurd as the one from the Original Story may be, it is good opportunity to come forward and confirm that the impropriety on the company's behalf is actually possible.

 

[700UW]

Your off topic and if you hate US so much, why put up with it?

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

. It's all a facade, just like US Airways publishing a Code of Conduct guide to which only selective people are ultimately held up to, at the whim of the same management team that is allowed to blatantly break the same rules. Never, ever mention the word 'corruption' and 'double-standard' that comes with everything that the current US management does.

To be specific, you should just speak to a few Union reps regarding US Airways systematic targeting of HIV positive people or people with other afflictions that may happen from time to time. US Airways (America West) actively pursues getting rid of anyone that costs them money. HIV positive people (considering your own statistic that half the workforce is gay) cost the company a lot of money.

BINGO!

We seem to drifting a bit. Let's try to stay on topic, folks.


(Conite, I tried to PM you, system would let me)