Lawsuit claims NY workplace bias laws don't apply to airlines
By Daniel Wiessner
Aug 1 (Reuters) -A trade group representing major U.S. airlines has sued a New York state civil rights agency accusing it of improperly trying to use state anti-discrimination laws to eliminate airlines' limits on paid sick leave for employees.
The lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday is at least the fourth by Airlines for America to claim that states are improperly requiring airlines to provide paid leave for routine doctor's appointments and "transitory" medical conditions.
A federal judge in Boston last year agreed with the group that a Massachusetts paid sick leave law was preempted by a federal law regulating airlines. The group also has lawsuits pending against Colorado and Illinois.
Wednesday's lawsuit was prompted by an administrative complaint that the New York Division of Human Rights filed last November claiming American Airlines discriminates against flight attendants based on disability and sex by disciplining them for missing work over certain medical issues, including for routine pregnancy-related appointments.
Airlines for America says a state anti-bias law does not cover those kinds of absences and that even if it did, the law is preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act, which bars states from adopting laws that affect the "price, route, or service" offered by an air carrier.
Finding otherwise would lead to an increase in worker absences, which in turn would cause flight delays, cancellations, and longer lines at ticket counters and gates, the lawsuit says.
Airlines for America has ten members including American, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, FedEx and UPS.
The Division of Human Rights did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
In the Massachusetts case, U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs last year found that a state law mandating paid sick leave had triggered an increase in sick days taken by airline employees. She also said that "sick leave abuse" was common in the airline industry, pointing to a spike in absences on weekends and holidays.
Airlines for America in Wednesday's lawsuit says the New York Division of Human Rights is similarly interfering with airlines' ability to use attendance policies common in the industry in which workers receive points for absences and can be disciplined or fired if they accumulate too many.
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that New York law, as interpreted by the Division of Human Rights, is preempted by the federal airline law.
The case is Airlines for America v. Miranda, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, No. 1:24-cv-05387.
For Airlines for America: Mark Robertson and Charles Mahoney of O'Melveny & Myers
For the state: Not available
Read more:
Judge sends airlines’ challenge to Mass. sick leave law to trial
Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York
Actifs liés
Dernières actualités
Avertissement : Les entités de XM Group proposent à notre plateforme de trading en ligne un service d'exécution uniquement, autorisant une personne à consulter et/ou à utiliser le contenu disponible sur ou via le site internet, qui n'a pas pour but de modifier ou d'élargir cette situation. De tels accès et utilisation sont toujours soumis aux : (i) Conditions générales ; (ii) Avertissements sur les risques et (iii) Avertissement complet. Un tel contenu n'est par conséquent fourni que pour information générale. En particulier, sachez que les contenus de notre plateforme de trading en ligne ne sont ni une sollicitation ni une offre de participation à toute transaction sur les marchés financiers. Le trading sur les marchés financiers implique un niveau significatif de risques pour votre capital.
Tout le matériel publié dans notre Centre de trading en ligne est destiné à des fins de formation / d'information uniquement et ne contient pas – et ne doit pas être considéré comme contenant – des conseils et recommandations en matière de finance, de fiscalité des investissements ou de trading, ou un enregistrement de nos prix de trading ou une offre, une sollicitation, une transaction à propos de tout instrument financier ou bien des promotions financières non sollicitées à votre égard.
Tout contenu tiers, de même que le contenu préparé par XM, tels que les opinions, actualités, études, analyses, prix, autres informations ou liens vers des sites tiers contenus sur ce site internet sont fournis "tels quels", comme commentaires généraux sur le marché et ne constituent pas des conseils en investissement. Dans la mesure où tout contenu est considéré comme de la recherche en investissement, vous devez noter et accepter que le contenu n'a pas été conçu ni préparé conformément aux exigences légales visant à promouvoir l'indépendance de la recherche en investissement et, en tant que tel, il serait considéré comme une communication marketing selon les lois et réglementations applicables. Veuillez vous assurer que vous avez lu et compris notre Avis sur la recherche en investissement non indépendante et notre avertissement sur les risques concernant les informations susdites, qui peuvent consultés ici.
