WestJet being sued by a former flight attendant
Posted Mar 2, 2016 4:59 pm.
Last Updated Mar 3, 2016 5:11 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) A civil lawsuit has been launched by a former WestJet flight attendant against the airline. She says she was sexually assaulted by a pilot and nothing was done about it. A notice of civil claim was filed at the BC Supreme Court in Vancouver yesterday.
The flight attendant, who we have chosen not to name, says the assault happened January 24, 2010. She says her crew was on a layover in Hawaii at the Makena Beach Resort. She says she and the rest of the crew socialized over drinks, as was encouraged by WestJet. She says the pilot invited everyone to his room to continue the party, but only she took him up on the offer. After more drinks, she claims the pilot made advances on her. She says she refused him and he then attempted to physically overtake her. She was able to fight him off.
She says she almost immediately told WestJet what had happened. She also reported the assault to Maui Police. The notice claims the flight attendant met with WestJet about three weeks later to discuss what happened. She says she was told she would no longer be working with this pilot and she was asked not to speak of the assault with anyone else in order to protect the pilot’s privacy. She says WestJet even asked her to sign an agreement to keep quiet about the assault for that same reason. She refused to sign.
The flight attendant claims she ended up being the one punished by the schedule change. She found she no longer received enough shifts to make up a full-time position. She says she felt demoralized and worried for the safety of other flight attendants working with this pilot. She believes the pilot was taken off the Hawaii route as a way to keep him from being interviewed or arrested by Maui Police.
It was April 2015 when this flight attendant met another employee at a training session who told her she had also been assaulted by this pilot. This assault is said to have happened two years prior to the events described by the complainant in this lawsuit. The notice of civil claim suggests WestJet was already well aware of the accused pilot’s behavior.
The flight attendant says she was so bothered by the knowledge that WestJet may have known about the pilot’s behavior that she was forced to go on stress leave. She was fired for insubordination in January 2016.
The flight attendant is asking for WestJet to investigate the allegations of assault from 2008 as well as her case. She’s asking for WestJet to declare it was negligent in the handling of her case. There’s also a request for general, punitive and specific damages.
WestJet has not filed a statement of defense. The airline offers this statement: “WestJet does not comment on ongoing legal proceedings but confirms it will file a statement of defense in which it will vigorously defend the allegations contained in the claim. WestJet further confirms its commitment to maintaining a safe and harassment free environment for its employees and guests and takes its obligations in this respect with the utmost seriousness.”
None of the allegations laid out in the notice of civil claim have been proven in court.
