Court orders WestJet to give files on alleged flight attendant harassment

The B.C. Supreme Court has ordered WestJet to provide all of its files related to harassment complaints from flight attendants, in connection with a class-action lawsuit alleging widespread misconduct by pilots.

Justice Jacqueline Hughes' ruling states that WestJet has been slow and "potentially adversarial" in producing the necessary documents, and it remains unclear why complaint files have not been provided in a timely manner.

The lawsuit, filed in 2016, claims that WestJet violated flight attendants' contracts by failing to deliver a harassment-free work environment.

In her decision, posted on Friday but dated Dec. 11, Hughes noted that WestJet attempted to limit the release of documents to only complaints filed by female flight attendants against male pilots who had not opted out of the lawsuit. However, Hughes ordered the airline to release all harassment complaints filed by flight attendants between April 4, 2014, and February 28, 2021, regardless of the alleged perpetrator.

Although WestJet had provided 24 harassment complaints, the ruling pointed out that the airline’s own internal records indicate there were “significantly more” complaints during that time. Some of these complaints involve sexual harassment and assault. In fact, the company’s documents revealed 16 complaints in the last three months of 2018, and 19 complaints in the first quarter of 2022.

The ruling also found that the airline’s delay in providing the documents contributed to the postponement of the trial until October 2025.

Lead plaintiff Mandalena Lewis had requested that WestJet hand over all harassment complaint files for its entire workforce. However, Hughes ruled that the case only concerns alleged breaches of the flight attendants’ contracts, not those of other employees.

The ruling explained that it was not clear how the plaintiff’s claims about WestJet’s failure to provide a harassment-free workplace for other staff, such as mechanics, would be relevant to the flight attendants' contracts.

While Hughes acknowledged that the power imbalance between flight attendants and male pilots plays a key role in the lawsuit, she emphasized that the scope should not be limited to just those complaints.

Hughes gave WestJet 45 days to submit the additional files, taking the holiday period into account.