Class-Action Lawsuit Alleges Spirit Airlines Prevents Employees from Using FMLA Benefits

Plaintiff Michael Warwas has filed a class action lawsuit against Spirit Airlines Inc., alleging the company violated Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) requirements by not counting all hours that Spirit employees are required to be at work toward their FMLA accruals.

Spirit does not count the pre- and post-flight time requirements that flight attendants need to be on an airplane — one hour before a flight and 30 minutes after the flight arrives at the gate — toward the employees required work time to be eligible for FMLA, according to the class action.

Instead, Spirit only counts the time from when an airplane begins to leave the gate until when it arrives at the next gate toward the employees’ 520 credit hours it requires of employees each 12 months in order to be eligible for FMLA. The Spirit class action contests that just 504 duty hours are required for FMLA eligibility, not the 520 credit hours.

Read more at Top Class Actions