Southwest Airlines Class Action

Case Name: Richard Strain and David Garner, et al. v. Southwest Airlines, Co.

Case Type: Wage Theft and Overtime Violations

Filed in: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

Docket: Case No.: 2:24-cv-08885

Case Summary

On December 30, 2024, Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight filed a class and collective action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Southwest Airlines, alleging pervasive wage law violations affecting the economic livelihoods of hundreds of the airline’s baggage and cargo handlers in New York State.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of ramp agents Richard Strain and David Garner and other Southwest employees in similar roles involving manual labor, such as lifting, loading, and unloading baggage and cargo; cleaning airplane lavatories; and assisting with snow removal.

The Complaint alleges that Southwest violates plaintiffs’ and the class members’ wage rights by paying them on a bimonthly basis, when New York Labor Law mandates that workers who spend more than 25% of their time performing manual labor be paid on a weekly basis. The lawsuit further alleges that Southwest is in violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by failing to promptly pay its employees their earned wages.  

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Southwest Airlines operates throughout New York State, including at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Long Island McArthur Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Albany International Airport.

According to the Complaint, plaintiffs “depend on their wages for sustenance; and, as a result, suffer harm that is particularly acute due to Southwest’s delayed payment of their earned wages, depriving them of the compensation which they rely upon to survive.”

Mr. Strain has worked as a Southwest ramp agent in Islip, New York since June 2008. Mr. Garner has worked as a Southwest ramp agent at Buffalo Niagara International Airport since 2009.

The Complaint defines the New York Class Members as “all current and former employees of Defendant working as baggage and/or cargo handlers, including but not limited to ramp agents and cargo agents, throughout the State of New York during the time period from six years prior to the filing of the complaint until the date of judgment in this action.”

The Complaint seeks more than $100 million in liquidated damages, equitable and injunctive relief, attorneys’ fees and costs, interest, and other appropriate relief.