In a significant legal development, the British Columbia Supreme Court has mandated that WestJet disclose all its files related to harassment complaints filed by flight attendants. This order is part of an ongoing class-action lawsuit initiated in 2016, which alleges that WestJet breached its contractual obligation to provide a safe and harassment-free workplace.
The lawsuit contends that there is widespread misconduct by pilots, creating a hostile work environment for flight attendants. Despite WestJet having provided 24 harassment complaints, internal statistics suggest a significantly higher number of incidents. Some of these complaints involve serious offenses, including sexual harassment and assault.
Justice Jacqueline Hughes criticized WestJet for its slow and potentially adversarial approach to document production, noting that the airline’s delays have contributed to the trial being postponed until October 2025. She ordered WestJet to produce all harassment complaints made by flight attendants during the class period, from April 4, 2014, to February 28, 2021, regardless of whom they were against.
The lead plaintiff, Mandalena Lewis, had sought to obtain all harassment complaint files for WestJet’s entire workforce. However, Justice Hughes limited the scope to flight attendants, stating that the case pertains specifically to alleged breaches of their employment contracts.
This ruling underscores the importance of transparency and accountability in addressing workplace harassment and may have significant implications for corporate policies and practices within the aviation industry.