A federal jury ordered the carrier to pay $300,000 to a former employee after they were allegedly sexually harassed by peers and a supervisor.
A SkyWest Airlines Bombardier CRJ-700 aircraft on final approach at O’Hare International Airport. (Photo: Shutterstock | Carlos Yudica)
A federal jury ordered SkyWest Airlines to pay $300,000 to a former employee who was the target of alleged sexual harassment in a verdict on Wednesday.
The case was litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas by the Equal Employee Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC complaint, filed in August 2022, stated that the employee was sexually harassed by other employees during their time working as a parts clerk in 2019.
The sexual harassment included crude sexual comments, jokes, gestures, and mimed assaults directed at the employee, EEOC’s complaint stated. Among these were explicit comments about the employee’s body, speculation about what sexual positions they may enjoy and suggestions or requests to perform demeaning sex acts with the employee.
The complaint added that the maintenance supervisor openly suggested to the employee’s co-workers that they could sexually traffic the employee while on a work errand to pick up parts. This statement was made in front of the employee.
The employee took an unpaid medical leave of absence in 2019 due to the harm to their mental health caused by the pervasive atmosphere and harassment.
When the employee requested a change in schedule to part-time citing a “salacious environment,” their maintenance supervisor emailed a response stating they would need to either work their schedule or apply for leave – otherwise they would be fired.
In December 2019, the employee filed a report through SkyWest’s human resources web portal. The employee was then placed on administrative leave by the employee relations manager. After interviewing all employees involved, the employee relations manager recommended mandatory sexual harassment training for all employees.
Five months after being placed on leave, the employee remained on leave and had not been updated on the status of the investigation or a return-to-work plan. After the employee reached out to the employee relations manager, the manager told them they could not return to work until the completion of the sexual harassment training by all employees.
“[The employee] felt compelled to resign [their] employment May 30, 2020 because Defendant failed to return [them] to work and ceased to communicate with [them] about any reasonably specific date that [they] could expect to safely return,” the complaint stated.
After a seven-day trial starting on Nov. 12, 2024, the jury ordered SkyWest to pay $170,000 in compensatory damages and $130,000 in punitive damages, totaling $300,000 in damages. A Law360 report stated that the jury awarded $2 million in punitive damages, but they were capped at $300,000 due to limitations on what plaintiffs can seek in a federal employment discrimination suit.
In a statement to AirlineGeeks, a SkyWest spokesperson said it plans to appeal the decision, adding that it disagrees with the sexual harassment finding. “SkyWest does not tolerate any form of harassment in the workplace.” the spokesperson stated.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024 at 5:38 p.m. ET to include comments from a SkyWest spokesperson and clarify the allegations.
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