WestJet agrees to C$4.5m settlement in flight attendants' sexual harassment lawsuit
Canadian airline WestJet has settled a decade-long class action brought by female flight attendants who accused the company of failing to keep the workplace safe, agreeing to pay C$4.5m. The woman who launched the suit says she is disappointed by the low payout and lack of accountability.
A British Columbia judge has approved a settlement between Canadian airline WestJet and thousands of current and former flight attendants who spent more than a decade pursuing a class action over the company's alleged failure to protect staff from sexual harassment. The deal, finalised on 22 June after months of negotiation, will see WestJet pay C$4.5m (about £2.4m), to be divided among the 3,452 flight attendants covered by the suit once expenses, including legal fees, are deducted.
The case originated with claims from former flight attendant Mandalena Lewis, who said she and a colleague were sexually assaulted by a WestJet pilot, but that the airline continued to let him fly, putting other staff at risk. Lewis says she was assaulted by the pilot in 2010, aged 25, during a layover in Hawaii, and that the same pilot had assaulted another attendant in 2008. Although she reported the incident to both WestJet and police in Hawaii, the pilot kept his job, while Lewis herself was dismissed in 2016 for what the company called "gross insubordination" — a move she and her lawyers describe as retaliation.
Scope and outcome of the settlement
Under British Columbia law, the class action covered every female flight attendant who worked at WestJet between 4 April 2014 and 28 February 2021, since the suit alleged the airline breached its own anti-harassment workplace policy for all of them during that period. The settlement does not include any admission of wrongdoing or contract breach by WestJet, nor the mandatory anti-harassment training for pilots that the suit had originally demanded.
WestJet has agreed to commission an independent workplace review examining how widespread harassment is, how much goes unreported, and how reporting systems could be improved. Lewis expressed disappointment, noting the sum is far smaller than the C$12.5m WestJet paid two years ago to settle a separate class action over baggage fees. Eight other claimants had already asked the court not to approve the settlement back in February. In a statement, WestJet said it was "pleased" with the agreement and remains focused on staff safety, training and workplace culture.
