“Time worked means time during which an employee is performing labor or services for the benefit of an employer, including all time s/he is suffered or permitted to work, whether or not required to do so. Requiring or permitting employees to be on the employer’s premises, on duty, or at a prescribed workplace shall be considered time worked that must be compensated.”

💡 Colorado law explicitly requires payment for all time employees spend on premises or on duty, directly contradicting United’s alleged practice of paying only flying hours.

“At all times during the Relevant Period, United had a uniform policy of paying Class Members wages for only their ‘flying hours,’ i.e., the time between the pilots’ release of the break at the beginning of a flight and the plane coming to the stop at the end of the flight. United did not pay Class Members wages, or even the applicable minimum wage rates, for the other hours they spent on duty and/or at their prescribed workplaces within the State of Colorado.”

💡 This establishes the Flying Hours Policy was not an isolated error but a company-wide, systematic practice applied uniformly to hundreds of workers.

“For example, on Wednesday May 9, 2024, Senosier-Messan worked nine hours for United, but was only paid for three hours, $32.59, plus $2.20 per hour for the other six hours that he worked.”

💡 This concrete example shows the dramatic gap between hours worked and hours compensated, with two-thirds of a shift going unpaid at proper wage rates.

“Based on this Flying Hours Policy, United did not pay wages or minimum wages to the Plaintiffs and the other Class Members for the hours they were required to work, but that were non-flying hours, including: The hours that Class Members spent performing pre-flight job duties prior to the closing of the boarding door at DEN; The hours between the time that Class Members arrived at the plane, which they were required to do 45 minutes to 75 minutes prior to the scheduled departure, and the closing of the boarding door at DEN; The hours Class Members worked on the plane between the opening of the boarding door and the time that they stopped assisting with deplaning and performing other work duties for United at DEN; The hours that Class Members spent traveling between planes at DEN; and The many hours Class Members spent at the gate prior to boarding as a result of delays.”

💡 This catalog of unpaid work shows the breadth of mandatory job duties United allegedly treated as non-compensable despite workers being on-site, in uniform, and under company control.

“During these unpaid, non-flying work hours, the Plaintiffs and the other Class Members were required to be at their prescribed work site, i.e., the plane to which they were assigned, DEN, or the gate at which the plane to which they were assigned was scheduled to arrive. During these unpaid, non-flying work hours, the Plaintiffs and the other Class Members were required to be in uniform, and to abide by the policies, practices, and procedures of United.”

💡 Workers had no freedom during unpaid hours, establishing they were under company control and the time should have been compensated under Colorado law.

“Because they were in uniform and on duty, the Plaintiffs and the other Class Members were required to address any passenger concerns, perform pre-flight duties, and (in the case of United’s many delays) provide regular water services to passengers during these non-flying work hours.”

💡 Flight attendants performed actual job duties benefiting the employer during unpaid hours, demonstrating this was compensable work time, not personal time.

“In short, the unpaid non-flying work hours belonged to, and were controlled by United. The Plaintiffs and the other Class Members were not at liberty to utilize these hours for their own purposes.”

💡 This statement directly contradicts any claim that unpaid time was personal or voluntary, establishing United controlled and benefited from this uncompensated labor.

“Moreover, the Plaintiffs and the other Class Members were subject to discipline if/when they were accused of violating United’s policies and practices during the non-flying work hours.”

💡 The threat of discipline during allegedly unpaid time proves workers were on duty and under company authority, making compensation legally required.

“At all times relevant to this Complaint, United knew, or through the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known, that its failure to pay the Plaintiffs and the other Class Members wages and/or minimum wages for the non-flying work hours that they worked violated Colorado Wage and Hour Law. As such, the Defendant’s actions were willful.”

💡 Establishing willfulness allows for enhanced penalties under Colorado law and extends the statute of limitations, increasing United’s potential liability.

“Class Members received a ‘per diem’ of approximately $2.00 per hour for their non-flying work hours, but were not paid wages or minimum wages.”

💡 The $2 per hour per diem falls far short of Denver’s $18.29 minimum wage, demonstrating United’s payment was grossly inadequate under state law.

“On many occasions, the non-flying hours the Plaintiffs and the Class Members were required to work resulted in hours over 40 per week, 12 per day, and/or 12 per shift. As a result of the Flying Hours Policy, United does not pay Class Members overtime compensation at a rate of one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for all of the hours that they work over 40 per week, 12 per day, and/or 12 per shift.”

💡 United allegedly violated not just minimum wage laws but also overtime requirements, compounding the financial harm to workers who exceeded standard hour thresholds.

“The CWA declares that ‘[a]ny agreement… purporting to waive or modify [an] employee’s rights in violation of this article shall be void.'”

💡 Even if United had contractual or collective bargaining language supporting its pay practice, Colorado law voids any agreement that waives statutory wage protections.

“To the best of Harrison’s knowledge and recollection, she estimates that she worked an average of 14 unpaid hours per week in Colorado during the period from February 2015 to May 2022, and that she worked an average of 28 unpaid hours per week in Colorado from May 2022 to March 2023.”

💡 These estimates show the scale of unpaid labor, with one plaintiff losing up to 28 hours of compensation per week during her Denver-based period.

“Based on her observations, recollection, and conversations with other flight attendants during and after her employment with United, Harrison is aware that other Class Members worked similar numbers of unpaid hours each week.”

💡 This establishes the wage theft was not limited to named plaintiffs but affected hundreds of similarly situated workers throughout the class period.

“On behalf of themselves and the other Class Members, the Plaintiffs seek unpaid wages, unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, mandatory penalties under C.R.S. § 8-4-109(3)(b)(I), additional penalties under C.R.S. § 8-4-109(3)(b)(II), reasonable attorney’s fees, costs, costs of administration, and all other and further remedies that the Court may find to be equitable and just.”

💡 Colorado law provides for multiple forms of damages and penalties, potentially resulting in substantial liability beyond just back wages if violations are proven.