Hirst v. Skywest, Inc.

• Decision Date: 24 May 2016
• Docket Number: No. 15 C 02036,15 C 02036
• Parties: ANDREA HIRST, MOLLY STOVER, and EMILY STROBLE SZE, on behalf of themselves individually and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. SKYWEST, INC. and SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

ANDREA HIRST, MOLLY STOVER, and EMILY STROBLE SZE, on behalfof themselves individually and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. SKYWEST, INC. and SKYWEST AIRLINES, INC., Defendants.

No. 15 C 02036

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

May 24, 2016

Judge John J. Tharp, Jr.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

The plaintiffs, Andrea Hirst, Molly Stover, and Emily Stroble Sze, are former flight attendants ("FAs") with SkyWest Airlines, Inc. They bring this action on behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated FAs who were paid hourly wages by SkyWest, Inc. and SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (collectively, "SkyWest") within the three years prior to the filing of this suit. The plaintiffs allege that SkyWest's compensation scheme—under which they were not paid based upon the total hours they worked in a given duty day but only for the number of block time hours they worked when the aircraft's main cabin door was closed—violates the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 206, 216(b), and the Illinois Minimum Wage Law ("IMWL"), 820 Ill. Comp. Stat. 105/1-15. The defendants move to dismiss the Amended Complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim and move to dismiss the IMWL claim under Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Mt. Dismiss, ECF No. 35. As will be explained, the characterization of some of SkyWest's arguments as jurisdictional is mistaken, but the error is of no consequence. For the following reasons, the motion to dismiss is granted.

BACKGROUND¹

I. Flight Attendant Duties, Schedules, and Compensation

Defendant SkyWest, Inc. is the parent company of defendant SkyWest Airlines, Inc. and another airline (ExpressJet Airlines, Inc.) that is not involved in this litigation. Am. Compl. ¶ 42, ECF No. 22. The plaintiffs state, "upon information and belief," that SkyWest currently employs approximately 2,663 FAs, with 389 based out of Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Am. Compl. ¶ 44.

The plaintiffs are former FAs with SkyWest: Andrea Hirst was employed from April 20, 2010 until May 10, 2015 and was based out of O'Hare Airport for the majority of her tenure with SkyWest (the Amended Complaint does not indicate where else Hirst was based or for what period of time). Am. Compl. ¶ 35. Molly Stover was employed from August 9, 2012 until November 2014 and was based out of O'Hare the entirety of her tenure with SkyWest. Am. Compl. ¶ 36. Emily Stroble Sze was employed from June 2010 until September 2012 and was based out of O'Hare the majority of her tenure with SkyWest (again, the Amended Complaint does not indicate where else Sze was based or for what period of time). Am. Compl. ¶ 37.²

The schedules of SkyWest FAs are recorded down to the minute in the SkedPlus+ system. Am. Compl. ¶ 9. The minute-by-minute schedule for an FA's series of work trips (a "pairing") is recorded in the "paring details." Am. Compl. ¶ 11, Fig. 1. The pairing details reflect the actual circumstances of the pairing as flown and are available for each employee for the past several years on the SkedPlus+ system. Am. Compl. ¶ 12. The pairing details identify the FA by her employee number and name, list her domicile, level of training, and position. Am. Compl.¶ 13. The details list the FA's "report time"—the time at which she must have arrived at the airport in uniform with all of her mandatory items for duty, cleared security, and checked in electronically on SkyWest's computer system. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 14, 54-60. If an FA reports earlier than is listed on the pairing details, the required time rather than the actual report time is recorded. Id.

Each flight has a "block time," which is the actual length of time that it took to fly between the two destinations on the specific day; block time begins with "block out," when the main cabin door is closed and the aircraft moves away from the jet bridge, and ends with "block in," when the aircraft arrives at the destination jet bridge and the main cabin door is opened. Am. Compl. ¶ 18. Block time is closely related to "credit time," which is the time a flight (called a "leg") is estimated to take. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 22, 25. FAs are entitled to hourly compensation based on the greater of the two time periods: When block time is less than credit time (i.e., the flight landed early), FAs are compensated based on the estimated credit time. Am. Compl. ¶ 25. When block time exceeds credit time, FAs are entitled to additional compensation based on the block time and must submit a payroll correction form to receive the increased compensation. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 26, 80.

Some of the duties of a SkyWest FA are: "to ensure the safety of the passengers through required inspections of the aircraft prior to and after each flight, to assist passengers while the passengers are boarding or are onboard the aircraft, to provide customer service such as serving meals and drinks, and to assist passengers and the flight crew until all passengers have departed from the aircraft." Am. Compl. ¶ 50. Once on board but prior to closing the cabin door, FAs must perform a number of duties mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA"), including but not limited to: conducting a preflight and pre-boarding safety check, participatingin a pre-flight briefing with other crew members, and verifying that the commissary supply is sufficient. See Am. Compl. ¶ 61. After the aircraft blocks in and all passengers have deplaned, FAs must perform additional duties required by the FAA: they must, for example, check all emergency and safety equipment to verify that nothing has been tampered with during the flight, remove all trash, straighten and cross seatbelts, fold blankets, and clean the cabin (except on the final flight of the day), and verify that the aircraft is stocked and ready for subsequent flights, among other things. Am. Compl. ¶ 68.

The time between scheduled legs on a duty day is recorded as "turn time": if turn time is fewer than 45 minutes, FAs are generally not permitted leave the airplane (and are strictly prohibited from leaving the aircraft while any passenger remains on board). Am. Compl. ¶¶ 19, 67. If the turn time lasts more than an hour, FAs may leave the plane but are required to remain in the airport and in full uniform. Am. Compl. ¶ 20. Any unanticipated delays (e.g., mechanical problems or weather delays) are recorded as turn times; FAs are not compensated during either scheduled or unanticipated turn times. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 21, 64. Nor do SkyWest FAs receive any "holding pay" for circumstances where passengers are onboard but the plane is held at the gate. Am. Compl. ¶ 64.

The "release time," marking the end of an FA's daily shift, is automatically set at 15 minutes after the cabin door is opened on the last flight of the day. Am. Compl. ¶ 15. The time between an FA's report time and release time is her "duty day," during which time FAs are required to be in uniform and are under SkyWest's direction. Am. Compl. ¶ 16. The maximum length of an FA's duty day is regulated by the FAA. Am. Compl. ¶ 17; see 14 CFR 121.467(b) (setting an FA's maximum duty day at 14 hours, with limited exceptions). FAs work betweenone and seven or more legs in any given duty day and are guaranteed a minimum of four hours of block time for every duty day. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 53, 74.

The pairing details include a "trip summary," which lists the first report time and the last release time of the entire pairing, the total length of the pairing ("time away from base"), and the cumulative block time and credit time for the entire pairing. Am. Compl. ¶ 27. In addition to the hourly compensation based on the credit and block time, FAs receive a non-taxable per diem of $1.80 per hour for every hour of time away from base. Am Compl. ¶ 28. If an FA volunteers to be "junior manned" (i.e., work overtime), she is paid at one and one half times her regular hourly rate. Am. Compl. ¶ 80(C) and n.6.

II. The Plaintiffs' Experiences as SkyWest FAs

The Amended Complaint describes two of Andrea Hirst's SkedPlus+ pairings: in the first, a four-day trip from October 30, 2012 through November 2, 2012, Hirst was compensated for a total of 19 hours and 10 minutes (her credit time, which exceeded her block time of 18 hours and 19 minutes). Am. Compl. ¶ 29. The Amended Complaint alleges that Hirst should have been compensated for all of her duty time in those four days, a total of 33 hours and 44 minutes. Am. Compl. ¶ 29. In the second example, the Amended Complaint focuses on a single day, December 22, 2014, during which Hirst's first leg was delayed by approximately six hours (which, as it was not block time, was uncompensated) due to late arrival of the aircraft: on that day, Hirst's duty day totaled 14 hours and 49 minutes, but she was compensated for a total of 7 hours and 48 minutes. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 99-101. In total during the four-day pairing from December 21, 2014 through December 24, 2014 (including December 22), Hirst's duty time totaled 37 hours and 48 minutes and credit time (because credit time again exceeded block time) totaled 24 hours and 55 minutes. See Am. Compl. Fig. 3. The Amended Complaint does notinclude Hirst's hourly rate for either of these examples or the amount she received as compensation for either pairing. The Policy Manual, however, includes a chart of FAs' hourly rates (to which the plaintiffs refer, see Am. Compl. ¶ 80(A) and n.5) based on an FA's years of service with SkyWest. See Am. Compl. Ex. 2 § 2327. Hirst began work as an FA with SkyWest in 2010 and had served two years at the time of the first example pairing in late 2012, so it appears that her hourly rate would have been $22.49. Id. There is no information as to Hirst's hourly rate in 2014 (the chart only extends through 2012), which likely increased due to her additional experience. (The hourly rate in 2012 for an FA with four years of experience was $24.73.) Id.

As to Molly Stover, the Amended Complaint...