The Miami trial lawyers of Grossman Roth, P.A. reported a major victory recently for a group of pilots and flight attendants who put themselves in harms way – and were reportedly denied full pay to.
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According to the law firm, the case – a class-action lawsuit against Vision Airlines Inc. – resulted in a $4.5 million award for the plaintiffs. It also reportedly sends a clear message that employers need to live up to their obligations, particularly for employees who live up to theirs.
The multimillion-dollar award, handed down by a federal jury in Las Vegas, will be shared by the 175 crew members who make up the class.
All contended that Vision, a North Las Vegas charter airline, had failed to provide the extra hazard pay due them for flying government missions into war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2005. The next step reportedly is to seek an injunction requiring Vision to abide going forward by contracts calling for hazard pay.
The lawsuit, filed in January 2009, brought out details on how the Vision flights were carried out: the crews flew difficult maneuvers, in missions that usually took place at night, to avoid enemy ground fire. Each of the 175 former and current Vision pilots and flight crew put their lives on the line with every flight – and in return were not paid one cent of the hazard pay owed them, until the jury ruled.
“It’s a great result for the class,” Grossman Roth partner David Buckner said of the jurys decision. “It is always gratifying to see justice done.”
In their filings with the court, the trial team noted that Vision itself had received extra hazard pay from the contractors that hired it to run flights in and out of hotspots in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it never shared that compensation with the employees who actually carried out the dangerous missions.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing.
Contact: [email protected] or 860-553-6604.
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