Flight Attendant sues Delta and Jetblue in sexy dress dispute

[Eagle757shark]

Flight attendant sues Delta in sexy dress dispute

Associated Press
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A flight attendant is suing JetBlue Airways and Delta Air Lines, saying a male employee denied her a work-related flight because she wasn’t dressed provocatively enough.

The flight attendant, 37-year-old Karin Keegan of Pittsburgh, works for Delta. The airline has an agreement for JetBlue to ferry Delta flight attendants to job assignments on a standby basis.

Keegan’s lawsuit said a male JetBlue worker wouldn’t let her on a flight in October 2007 because she wasn’t dressed provocatively enough, then allowed other flight attendants with less seniority to board the plane.

“Keegan changed into more provocative clothes, but (the employee) told her she was too late to board the plane and should have dressed like that before,” said the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Pittsburgh federal court.

“He wanted her to change to a lower-cut shirt and tighter pants, and wear more makeup before letting her on the plane,” Keegan’s attorney, Samuel Cordes, said Monday. Delta and JetBlue officials refused to intercede when she complained, the lawsuit said.

Cordes said Keegan is losing income, though he wouldn’t specify how much, because she has stopped taking JetBlue flights to job assignments so she can avoid harassment by the male employee.

Media relations officials at Atlanta-based Delta did not answer the phone Monday. Bryan Baldwin, a spokesman for JetBlue of Forest Hills, N.Y., said the airline doesn’t comment on litigation.

Keegan sued after complaining to the federal Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. The agency gave Keegan right-to-sue letters late last year.

Cordes said JetBlue told the commission it is not liable because Keegan is not an employee. But federal law enables employees to sue over workplace harassment even when they are not directly employed by the alleged harasser, Cordes said.

Similar suits are often filed by nurses against doctors when harassment occurs in a hospital, he said. Courts have found nurses can sue doctors for workplace harassment, even though the nurses are employed by the hospital, Cordes said.

 

[Whiskey Tango]

He wanted her to change to a lower-cut shirt and tighter pants, and wear more makeup before letting her on the plane

Take off the sweatpants and shirt and put your uniform on!

 

[Crzipilot]

Hmmm...so we can get sued while jumpseating and harrassing another carriers passengers and workers??? Man....all the fun is leaving....

 

[RiddleEagle18]

this stupid b. is gonna ruin it for everyone. I can see it now no more delta employees allowed to jumpseat on jetblue.

 

[Captzaahlie]

this stupid b. is gonna ruin it for everyone. I can see it now no more delta employees allowed to jumpseat on jetblue.

And you'd still feel the same way if this was you wife commuting to work and she was denied the flight, missed her trip, and was basically sexually harassed?

The gate agent should be fired for this.......

 

[banger]

And you'd still feel the same way if this was you wife commuting to work and she was denied the flight, missed her trip, and was basically sexually harassed?

The gate agent should be fired for this.......

She wasn't. When you hear the story you will cringe.

 

[Charlie Brown]

Fired? Are you freaking serious? She is trying to NONREV, she has to abide by the rules of the agreement. If she wants to roll out of bed, throw on some "casual" attire and expect to get no questions, buy a damn ticket. Remember, jumpseating/non-revving is a privilege, not a right.

 

[Captzaahlie]

Fired? Are you freaking serious? She is trying to NONREV, she has to abide by the rules of the agreement. If she wants to roll out of bed, throw on some "casual" attire and expect to get no questions, buy a damn ticket. Remember, jumpseating/non-revving is a privilege, not a right.

(The gate agent)

"denied her a work-related flight because she wasn’t dressed provocatively enough"


Where does it say the jumpseater needs to be provocative?

Are you dressed sexy for the gate agents when you jumpseat ?

Do you wear your favorite thong when you jumseat?
Do you wear low cut jeans to show the back of them off?
Are your pants tight enough to show off the outline of your Dinty Moore sausage?


I'll eat all these words if she was trying to jumpseat in a sweats , then yes I agree with you. We need to look like professionals not the bums that ride our flights. I'm not a against a woman looking sexy, I like eye candy more than the next guy but it should be the individuals choice on how
"provocative" they want to look. (short of showing too much which "should" get you banned from getting on a flight.) It's not the gate agents job to determine what is "provocative"....
“He wanted her to change to a lower-cut shirt and tighter pants" ~ thats bullsh!t and why the gate agent should be fired......

 

[DIAMONDDD]

She should just be thankful that we don't make her ride in the lav, like we do all the time with other non-revs.

 

[WateryGrave]

Offline jumpseating by FA's on Jetblue has nothing to do with seniority. I'm sure she just got pissed because two younger hotter girls showed up first and she got in trouble for missing work.

 

[atldc9]

If you were Jetblue, and sued for not providing a free, professional courtesy, wouldn't you have a serious discussion about not providing this courtesy to anyone else to avoid this in the future?

This is slippery slope stuff.

 

[Captzaahlie]

If you were Jetblue, and sued for not providing a free, professional courtesy, wouldn't you have a serious discussion about not providing this courtesy to anyone else to avoid this in the future?

This is slippery slope stuff.

No, I'd just make sure the gate agents performed their duties as per company policy.

(letting non-revs and jumpseaters board with out favoritism and or unprovocative harassment...)

"You are not dressed revealing enough therefore you can not board this flight!".......

Do you want your gate agents determining this as they try to get a flight out on time?

Is that actually part of their job description?

Remember the jumpseat is a reciprocal deal.
It helps (or may help) Jetblue Flight attendants get to work on other airlines too. You need to think about the big picture as well.

 

[DAL737FO]

Not saying this is what happened but I could see it going down like this. Three flight attendants show up at the gate and two are dressed in business casual, the required dress, and happen to look sexy. The third flight attendant shows up and is in blue jeans and tennis shoes and is denied boarding. She looks at the other two and asks the gate agent why they are getting on and he answers because they are dressed appropriately. Now the disgruntled flight attendant reads this as I'm not dressed sexy enough.

We have a lot of flight attendants at Delta showing up to jumpseat in blue jeans and tennis shoes. I've asked Captains if I would be allowed to jumpseat up front in blue jeans to which they answer no. Somewhere along the line they, meaning our FA's, how come to believe that it is authorized to cabin jumpseat in jeans. Here are the Delta FA jumpseat attire requirements:

Jumpseat Attire
While we believe it is appropriate to mirror our passengers when riding non-revenue, when traveling on the jumpseat it is important we present a professional and business image. Wearing a uniform is permitted; however, it’s discouraged due to customers’ perception that you’re a working crewmember. If wearing a uniform, it must be in full compliance with published uniform wearing guidelines. If not wearing a uniform, the dress code for jumpseat travel is business casual - no jeans or shorts. In addition, closed-toe, closed-heel shoes should be worn - no sandals or tennis shoes.

So do you think one of our FA's would make a stink if they were denied boarding and missed a sign in? You bet!

 

[samballs]

And you'd still feel the same way if this was you wife commuting to work and she was denied the flight, missed her trip, and was basically sexually harassed?

The gate agent should be fired for this.......

Do you believe everything only told by one side?

 

[Raskal]

Great, as if FA's need something new to bitch about.

 

[NCFlyer]

She wasn't. When you hear the story you will cringe.

So what is the rest of the story?

Non-rev, commuting? Either way I don't think any gate agent has the right to insist that a person dress more "provocatively".

If in unacceptable attire, then absolutely request a change. But to ask that they dress more provocatively is completely unacceptable.

If that is the case, then I agree with Captzaahlie, the agent should be fired.

How many times have each of us seen "unacceptable" attire by jumpseaters. My company says that jumpseaters must be in first class attire or in uniform. In either case blue jeans or sneakers aren't permitted yet week after week jumpseaters show up with either.

I guess we need Paul Harvey, to know the "rest of the story".

 

[samballs]

Why do Flt Atts. think their important? Its a waitress, they do nothing except b!tch, no more than a waitress in the soda area. Most flight Attendants just say that looks cool I'll apply. Whatever, I'll never win approval for my invention the
" flt att 1000" it goes up and down the aisle looks like an ATM. Not like they ever do anything in an emergency, the passengers don't even know they exsist. Passengers know where to go and always do. DOWN with flt atts, and yes this a rant because I'm flying with Kentucky's finest this trip.

 

[Crzipilot]

Could this had been a a case of frumpy F/A showing up. Not in acceptable attire. Younger less senior employees, properly dressed allowed to board. Frumpy f/a not wanting to change, or unable to change in time, decides to blame gate agent on her problems instead of looking at herself as the one to blame??? Maybe this employee has had similar problems before, non-reving off line.

Maybe said f/a, looked at younger, pieces of eye candy and said, THAT is the reason I can't get on, because they show flesh and I don't. Interjects the provacative comment into the gate agents mouth, retains a lawyer and sues. Naaaaaa a f/a would never do such a thing would she?

Sounds like a NY based f/a that doesn't want to do the connection required to fly on her own metal. Sounds very similar to the US f/a and SWA problems in PIT. Is there something in the water up there that makes off line non revers crazy?

 

[IBNAV8R]

I suspect the word "provocative" never passed the gate agents lips.

This begs the question; "What did she look like?"

 

[~~~^~~~]

I suspect the word "provocative" never passed the gate agents lips.

Yea, that's a lot of Syll A bl es. (as spoken by Mike Myers)

I sincerely hope JetBlue's counsel demands fees and costs when they win their dismissal with prejudice.

Where do they find attorneys willing to take these cases on a contingency basis. I don't think JetBlue will voluntarily settle this for any amount of money. I'd like to add the pain of making the Plaintiff Attorney be responsible for the collection of fees from their client.

 

[Fubijaakr]

Just wear your uniform, even if it is "discouraged".

 

[samballs]

The JFK commuters out of PIT are not of quality

 

[FADEC]

The JFK commuters out of PIT are not of quality

Perhaps not. But as long as they are appropriately dressed they are welcome on my aircraft any time. That jumpseat includes the aft FA jumpseat.

 

[Tweaker]

In my brief time in the employ of US Steel Airways, I can vouch for the high quotient of overused, abused, or just high hull time "cat rancher" stews.

Irregardless, they were all really nice. Boneability should hardly be a deciding factor in a jumpseat dispute. Boys will be boys, that is reality. It seems as if someone deserves to have his pee pee smacked.

 

[clickclickboom]

Some of you guys are really take the cake..

just because the media throws out some tag line word and you hook it and run like it is scripture.

The FA showed up dressed like a hag and was denied boarding while 2 other FA's that were dressed professionally as per the jumpseat agreements were allowed on board.

Doesnt the fact that she went and changed tell you that she was dressed in a non professional manner?

She was a rude b-itch and the agent denied her end of story. Feeling endless entitlement she decided that because she missed her commute thaqt she would file a law suit and throw out " provocative " and she would get a check in the mail.

All she did was degrade this profession further.

PS the MUTLU guy that claimed he had to sit in the lav was the gay lover of one of our flight attendants. Said FA was tagged and tested positive for drugs and was fired. 30 days later " pitcher " claims aft lav detention and files lawsuit.

 

[greyskyracer]

Why do Flt Atts. think their important? Its a waitress, they do nothing except b!tch, no more than a waitress in the soda area. Most flight Attendants just say that looks cool I'll apply. Whatever, I'll never win approval for my invention the
" flt att 1000" it goes up and down the aisle looks like an ATM. Not like they ever do anything in an emergency, the passengers don't even know they exsist. Passengers know where to go and always do. DOWN with flt atts, and yes this a rant because I'm flying with Kentucky's finest this trip.

USairways 1549

 

[Monster Buck]

And you'd still feel the same way if this was you wife commuting to work and she was denied the flight, missed her trip, and was basically sexually harassed?

The gate agent should be fired for this.......

My wife would have been dressed properly the first time.:beer: This chick was not. That is why she went and changed.

It is too bad we don't hire FA's like KLM.:beer:Last spring at the training center in ATL the lunch room looked real good. I just can't figure out were they went after that!

 

[JBFlyer]

I suspect the word "provocative" never passed the gate agents lips.


I'd put money on it that the gate agent told her she needed to be dressed "more professionally" and that this FA twisted the words to make them fit her case.

 

[Captzaahlie]

Do you believe everything only told by one side?

No, like I said I'll eat my words if the story is different from the "you are not dressed provocative enough statement". My opinion is based on that premise alone. I'd love to hear the actual other side. Any one actually witness the deal or is everyone just speculating that she is a "b1tch in sweat pants and tennis shoes" we don't really know do we? I guess if you have a problem with fa's in general, then she's the hag in sweats.... (like the fa that's ruining samballs life right now on his trip...):bawling:
If you don't then you might think a person was treated unfairly.... I only know what I read and I'm basing my opinion on that information alone.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

PS the MUTLU guy that claimed he had to sit in the lav was the gay lover of one of our flight attendants. Said FA was tagged and tested positive for drugs and was fired. 30 days later " pitcher " claims aft lav detention and files lawsuit.

I know it's only January, but I'm gonna have to throw this one out for post of the year at the annual awards banquet.