Karina Basso  |  July 15, 2014

Category: Labor & Employment

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Southwest Airlines class action settlementOn June 27, Southwest Airlines agreed to a wage and hour class action settlement of $1 million concerning alleged unpaid wages and delayed termination payment of former California Southwest employees. The allegations against Southwest date back more than nine months and the class action lawsuit includes more than 5,000 Class Members.

The original wage and hour lawsuit against the Dallas-based airline company was brought to California federal court by former Southwest employee Timothy Mansfield in August 2013. He alleged that when his employment at Southwest Airlines was terminated in September 2012, he was not immediately paid the wages still owed to him. Mansfield claims that Southwest waited four days to pay the former employee his final wages.

According to California state law, an employee who is fired or “who quits without giving prior notice, must be paid his or her wages within 72 hours.”

In addition to this claim, Mansfield also alleges that Southwest did not provide him and other employees with accurate wage statements that, according to California labor law, should include dates of given pay period and an itemized list of hourly rates and number of hours worked by an employee during that pay period.

Originally, Southwest denied all allegations and fought the certification of the wage and hour class action lawsuit based on a statute of limitations. Even in the proposed settlement agreement, Southwest has maintained denial of Mansfield’s and other Class Members’ allegations.

After several weeks of negotiations, both parties included in the proposed the wage and hour lawsuit came to an agreeable class action settlement.

Of the $1 million to be paid by Southwest, $5,000 has been awarded to Mansfield, 25 percent will be used to pay for attorney’s fees, and the remaining wage and hour class action lawsuit fund will be distributed to the 5,400 class members, 400 of which, who are considered part of the waiting-period class, will receive $150.

California State Labor Laws

California State labor laws were set in place to protect the rights of workers to fair wages and a safe work place. This goes beyond simply policing minimum wage and enforcing sexual harassment guidelines. California labor laws also ensure that a California employee has documented evidence of his or her wages and hours worked.

As stated above, Mansfield alleged that in addition to not providing final wages earned within 72 hours, Southwest may also have broken California Labor Code Section 226, which states that “every employer shall, semimonthly or at the time of each payment of wages, furnish each of his or her employees, either as a detachable part of the check, draft, or voucher paying the employee’s wages, or separately when wages are paid by personal check or cash, an accurate itemized statement in writing[.]”

The itemized statement must include gross wages, total hours worked, deductions, net wages, and other itemized information regarding an employee’s wages earned during a given pay period.

Join a Free Unpaid Overtime Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were forced to work off the clock or without overtime pay in California within the past 2 to 3 years, you have rights – and you don’t have to take on the company alone. Learn more and obtain a free evaluation of your case to see if you’re eligible for back pay and other compensation at the Unpaid Overtime Lawsuit: Wage & Hour, Overtime Pay Class Action Lawsuit Investigation.

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